Trump and Xi initiate discussions aimed at sealing a TikTok agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have a phone call on Friday, marking the second conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House.
The call is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Washington time and is expected to focus on the operation of TikTok in the United States. The popular social media app faces a potential U.S. ban unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells its controlling stake.
Oracle is being considered as a potential partner for the acquisition. The details of the TikTok deal are expected to be finalized during the phone call.
The proprietary algorithm that populates TikTok content is a point of concern for U.S. officials. They have expressed concerns about ByteDance's roots and ownership, as well as China's data collection laws.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, believes that TikTok's data and algorithm must be "truly in American hands" to comply with the law. Chinese officials have agreed on authorization of the "use of intellectual property rights," including the algorithm, and entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security.
The trade talks aim to resolve various unresolved issues, including tech export restrictions, Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products, and fentanyl-related concerns. The trade war between the two countries has cost U.S. farmers one of their top markets, with American farm exports to China falling 53% from January through July compared to the same period last year.
U.S. sorghum sales to China, for instance, were down 97% during the same period. China, the biggest foreign buyer of U.S. beans, has paused purchases for this year's new crop. Josh Gackle, chairman of the American Soybean Association, is closely following the outcome of Friday's call due to the potential impact on resuming China's purchases of U.S. beans.
Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate a trade deal with Beijing, notably for TikTok. The two leaders also spoke in June to discuss China's restrictions on the export of rare earth elements. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not confirm any upcoming summit between the leaders, but a spokesperson stated that heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in guiding China-U.S. relations.
Top U.S. and Chinese officials have held four rounds of trade talks, with another likely in the coming weeks. The law aims to address data privacy and national security concerns, and TikTok's operation in the U.S. is contingent on it being separated from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, under a law passed last year. Trump has extended deadlines for TikTok to be spun off from ByteDance multiple times.
Trump has stated that the U.S. "has that value in its hand because we're the ones that have to approve it." The call on Friday will be an important step in determining the future of TikTok and the relations between the U.S. and China.
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