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Trump and Xi to finalize TikTok deal amid broader trade talks
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to finalize the highly anticipated TikTok agreement during their meeting on Thursday in South Korea, marking a potential breakthrough for the app's future and broader U.S.-China trade relations.
TikTok deal to shift majority control to U.S. investors
Speaking from Kuala Lumpur during Trump’s Asian tour, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News that "all details are resolved" for a deal that would transfer majority control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to American investors while allowing ByteDance, the app's Chinese parent company, to retain less than 20% ownership.
Valued at approximately $14 billion, according to the White House, the agreement aligns with a 2024 congressional mandate requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban. The deal also designates Oracle, co-founded by Larry Ellison, as the lead security provider, granting the company a 45% stake and oversight of TikTok’s algorithm. ByteDance will license a version of the algorithm to the U.S. entity, which officials say will operate independently of Chinese supervision.
Addressing security concerns
The deal has been structured to address national security concerns that prompted bipartisan legislation mandating ByteDance’s divestiture. Lawmakers feared Beijing could misuse TikTok to access American user data or manipulate content for propaganda purposes.
The agreement creates an American-controlled consortium led by Oracle to oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations. This step is intended to limit the potential influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the platform, a concern that has fueled years of scrutiny in the U.S.
Congressional oversight and skepticism
Despite the deal’s safeguards, some remain skeptical. Republican Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, chair of the House Special Committee on China, has called for urgent briefings on the agreement. Speaking on CBS’s "Face the Nation," Moolenaar expressed concerns over ByteDance’s partial ownership and the algorithm licensing arrangement, warning that these could allow the CCP to maintain influence over the app. "As long as there’s Chinese involvement, there’s reason to be wary," he stated.
High-stakes Trump-Xi meeting
Thursday’s meeting will mark the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Xi since Trump’s return to power. It coincides with broader trade talks that have made significant progress, according to Bessent, who described the negotiations as a "very successful framework." As part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, the discussions reflect an effort to ease longstanding tensions between the world’s two largest economies.