U.S. and Chinese officials have announced a preliminary agreement concerning the social media platform TikTok, which seeks to address a notable point of contention between the two nations.
Following two days of discussions in Madrid, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that both parties had established a “framework” for a deal. This framework aims to facilitate the divestiture of TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak on Friday to potentially approve the agreement, which Mr. Bessent described as an understanding between “two private parties” intended to shift the social application into U.S.-controlled ownership.
The U.S. negotiating team was led by Treasury Secretary Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while China’s delegation was headed by Vice Premier for Economic Policy He Lifeng. This meeting constituted the fourth round of talks addressing tariffs, trade, and other bilateral issues. The agreement’s announcement precedes a Wednesday deadline previously set by President Trump related to a law requiring TikTok’s separation from its Chinese owner or facing a ban in the United States.
Source: www.nytimes.com