After months of mounting tension and speculation, the fate of TikTok in the United States appears closer than ever to a turning point. On Friday, September 19, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held what Trump described as a "very productive" phone conversation, zeroing in on the future of the wildly popular social media platform and the broader contours of U.S.-China relations. As reported by the Associated Press and IBTimes UK, the call touched on everything from trade disputes to fentanyl and the war in Ukraine, but it was TikTok that took center stage.
For months, TikTok has stood at the crossroads of a high-stakes diplomatic standoff. The app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, boasts a massive U.S. user base, making it both a commercial prize and a potential national security concern. Under a U.S. law passed in 2024, TikTok faces a ban unless its Chinese parent company cedes control to an American entity—a demand driven by fears of data privacy breaches and the possibility of Chinese government influence over the app’s powerful algorithm.
Trump, who has credited TikTok with energizing his political base, has repeatedly extended deadlines for ByteDance to spin off the U.S. operations. According to the Associated Press, he told reporters, "I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok and also trade. And we’re very close to deals on all of it." The president added, "TikTok has tremendous value, and the U.S. has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it." The stakes, clearly, couldn’t be higher.
Following a U.S.-China trade meeting in Madrid earlier in September, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that a framework deal on TikTok’s ownership had been reached, with Trump and Xi expected to finalize the details during their Friday call. The broad contours of the deal, as described by Trump and U.S. officials, involve shifting TikTok’s U.S. operations to a consortium led by American companies—potentially including Oracle—while ByteDance retains ownership of the source code. The goal is to put TikTok’s data and algorithm "truly in American hands," as Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, emphasized.
But if U.S. officials sounded optimistic, their Chinese counterparts struck a more measured tone. On Saturday, September 20, China’s Commerce Ministry reaffirmed its firm stance, inviting commercial negotiations that "adhere to market norms and China’s regulations." The ministry’s statement—reported by multiple agencies—underscored Beijing’s consistent approach, even as Trump and Xi’s discussions intensified. Central to the negotiations, according to IBTimes UK, are TikTok’s ownership structure, the extent of China’s control, and the potential benefits for Beijing in allowing greater U.S. influence over one of its most successful tech exports.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to confirm either the call or any upcoming summit, but spokesperson Liu Pengyu told the Associated Press that "heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations." Sun Yun, who directs the China program at the Stimson Center, predicted a positive discussion, noting that "both sides have strong desire for the leadership summit to happen, while the details lie in the trade deal and what can be achieved for both sides from the summit."
The TikTok deal, while central, is only one piece of a much larger puzzle. The U.S. and China have been locked in a trade war since Trump’s return to the White House, with both sides imposing tariffs and restrictions that have battered industries and rattled global markets. Trump’s administration has imposed additional 20% tariffs on Chinese goods, largely in response to allegations that Beijing has failed to stem the flow of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a deadly opioid. Meanwhile, American farmers have borne the brunt of China’s retaliatory measures. From January through July 2025, U.S. farm exports to China plummeted 53% compared to the same period in 2024, with sorghum sales down a staggering 97%. As Josh Gackle, chairman of the American Soybean Association, told reporters, "There’s still time. It’s encouraging that the two countries continue to talk. I think there’s frustration growing at the farmer level that they haven’t been able to reach a deal yet."
In the wake of the Trump-Xi call, Trump announced on his Truth Social account that China would increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and that some tariffs would be rolled back. However, as IBTimes UK points out, these promises are not yet backed by any published treaty or joint agreement. Chinese officials, for their part, have reiterated that negotiations will continue under "market rules" and in accordance with Chinese law. The Chinese foreign ministry has stopped short of confirming any final deal, leaving key aspects—like control of TikTok’s algorithm, liability for user data, and the timeline for implementation—unresolved.
Analysts and experts are urging caution. Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told IBTimes UK that "no definitive deal has yet been confirmed by both sides," warning that China may be leveraging the momentum to shape terms more favorable to its own interests. Ali Wyne of the International Crisis Group added that while the renewed dialogue is a positive step, much of the progress is "symbolic." The real test, he said, will come in how and when the U.S. and China implement the framework, especially in sensitive areas like intellectual property, algorithm oversight, and export controls.
Despite the uncertainty, the mood in global markets has been cautiously upbeat. The prospect of a thaw in U.S.-China rhetoric, even if tentative, has provided a measure of relief to investors and business leaders wary of further escalation. For Beijing, the possibility of preserving a stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations while allowing a path forward for American oversight offers a face-saving compromise—one that could reassure domestic audiences that China’s sovereignty and legal authority remain intact, even as it engages in pragmatic diplomacy.
Looking ahead, Trump is set to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea in late October, where a face-to-face meeting with Xi could provide an opportunity to formalize aspects of the TikTok agreement and address lingering trade disputes. Both sides have signaled willingness to keep talking, and another round of high-level negotiations is expected in the coming weeks.
For now, the TikTok saga remains a work in progress—part diplomatic chess match, part economic negotiation, and part political theater. As the world’s two largest economies inch closer to a possible breakthrough, the outcome will shape not only the future of a social media giant but also the broader trajectory of U.S.-China relations for years to come.
