On Monday, September 15, 2025, the United States and China announced a breakthrough in their protracted dispute over TikTok, with both sides confirming a framework agreement that would transfer the popular video-sharing app’s U.S. operations to American-controlled ownership. The deal, unveiled by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Madrid, marks a pivotal moment in a saga that has gripped the tech world, political circles, and tens of millions of American TikTok users.
“We have a framework for a TikTok deal,” Bessent told reporters after concluding a second day of high-stakes talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The discussions, held in Madrid, also covered a wider range of trade and technology disputes that have long strained the world’s two largest economies. According to Reuters, Bessent emphasized that the agreement calls for TikTok “to switch to U.S.-controlled ownership,” though he declined to provide further specifics, citing the private nature of the commercial terms.
The news came as negotiators raced against a looming deadline: by Wednesday, September 17, TikTok was required by U.S. law to either find a non-Chinese buyer or face a nationwide ban due to national security concerns over its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly extended the deadline for TikTok’s divestment, confirmed the breakthrough on his Truth Social platform, writing that a deal had been reached with a “certain company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!” Trump added that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, September 19, to finalize the agreement.
While the broad outlines of the deal have been set, many questions remain unanswered. As France 24 reported, Sarah Kreps of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute cautioned that “national security questions remain unanswered,” particularly regarding data safeguards and the fate of TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm. The app’s algorithm, which had been on China’s export control list until recently, is seen as the crown jewel of ByteDance’s technology and a point of contention in the negotiations. Bessent, for his part, told reporters, “We’re not going to talk about the commercial teams of the deal. It’s between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon.”
Chinese officials have been more circumspect in their public statements. Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, told the official Xinhua news agency that both sides had reached “basic framework consensus” to properly solve TikTok-related issues in a cooperative way. However, Chinese representatives were notably absent from the press conference in Madrid, leaving some observers to wonder just how much Beijing is conceding in the deal. “It could be a carrot from China to get more of what they want in the trade talks, or to even just gotten this extension. But it’s still not clear how much China is actually giving up with TikTok,” Anita Kellogg, an assistant professor at the National Defense University, commented to TNND.
The TikTok agreement comes against the backdrop of a tense and ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. Earlier this year, tit-for-tat tariffs soared to triple digits, snarling global supply chains and rattling financial markets. Both governments later agreed to roll back their punitive tariffs, with the U.S. imposing 30% duties on Chinese goods and China hitting American products with a 10% levy. However, this temporary truce is set to expire in November, adding urgency to the current round of negotiations.
Trade talks in Madrid, the fourth such round since April, have been complicated by a series of new flashpoints. Over the weekend, China launched two investigations into the U.S. semiconductor sector, including a high-profile anti-dumping probe into integrated circuit chips and an antitrust investigation into U.S. chip giant Nvidia. Beijing’s Commerce Ministry accused Nvidia of violating China’s antitrust rules and pledged an additional probe, though details remain sparse. These moves come as both nations vie for supremacy in the critical field of semiconductors, a sector vital to everything from smartphones to defense systems.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has accused Beijing of slow-walking export license approvals for rare earth minerals—key materials for automotive, electronics, and defense industries—and of failing to crack down on precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. Both sides remain at odds over agricultural imports, export controls, and the broader rules governing digital trade and data security. According to TNND, “It’s really clear that both sides do not want to go back to the escalated tariffs. There’s very concerted effort on both sides to get a trade deal done, despite the difficulties and the sticking points between the two.”
TikTok’s meteoric rise has made it a flashpoint in the U.S.-China rivalry. Launched internationally in 2016 after ByteDance’s success with Douyin in China and its acquisition of Musical.ly, TikTok quickly became the first Chinese social platform to gain massive traction in the West. Its short-form videos, powered by an algorithm that tailors content to user interests, have helped launch the careers of music artists like Lil Nas X and provided a sense of community during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The app now boasts nearly two billion global users, including tens of millions in the U.S. alone.
Yet, with success came scrutiny. U.S. officials have repeatedly cited national security risks, pointing to Chinese laws that could compel ByteDance to hand over user data to Beijing. These concerns prompted Congress and the White House, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, to demand either a ban or a forced divestment of TikTok’s U.S. operations. Trump, who once advocated for a ban, has in recent months shifted his stance, reportedly convinced that TikTok played a role in helping him win over young voters in the last election.
As the clock ticks down to the September 17 deadline, all eyes are on the planned call between Trump and Xi. Their conversation could cement a deal that not only keeps TikTok available to millions of Americans but also sets the tone for the next phase of U.S.-China relations. Whether this agreement marks the start of a broader thaw or merely a pause in an ongoing rivalry remains to be seen.
For now, the framework deal on TikTok represents a rare moment of compromise in a relationship often defined by suspicion and competition, offering a glimmer of stability in an uncertain time for global technology and trade.
