Former President Donald Trump recently provided an update on the controversial TikTok deal, following a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The release coincides with the lively discussions, if not debates, on the potential sale of the popular social media platform TikTok in the United States. Though promising progress, Trump failed to provide any details on who the deal was going to be with, or what the scope of their work entailed.
As both Trump and the investor group behind the potential TikTok acquisition suggested, it would be a “very rich” company. Conversations behind the scenes about the potential sale unveil a thrilling opportunity. It proposes a possible 50-50 ownership arrangement between ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, and an American consortium. This collaborative/administrative setup has been evolving since early this year. In fact, China indicated that it was on board with the US-based deal at that point in time.
Ongoing Negotiations
The former president had been brokering with China for almost a year to wrap up planks of the TikTok deal. In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump indicated that the recent communication with Xi Jinping yielded significant updates regarding the sale. And indeed, the administration was quick to express gratitude to President Xi for approving the deal. He underscored that both countries have gone a long way on this front.
“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.” – Donald Trump
For all of these rosy proclamations, Trump hasn’t actually disclosed a single name or entity that’s done the buying. That lingering uncertainty regarding the bidding consortium casts doubt on how quickly the deal can go forward.
Future Meetings Planned
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled for their second phone call in as many weeks sometime soon. This will be the first time they meet in-person — at APEC, from October 31-November 1. Whether or not the discussions lead to a TikTok sale will emerge in these conversations. They will do so as they reconcile other urgent issues splitting the two countries.
The former president’s comments suggested that the agreement is closer to being finalized than ever before. He cautioned that the work is not finished yet. Without clarification, Trump’s confusing signals cast doubt on whether final agreements can be accomplished quickly or whether additional negotiations will be needed.
Implications of the Deal
If completed as expected, the forced-sale of TikTok would drastically change the social media ecosystem in America. Selling or transferring title of the service from ByteDance to an American company will address national security issues. This strategic change would preemptively quell lawmakers’ concerns around data privacy and foreign influence.
Negotiations are continuing, and the eventual fate of this deal remains unclear. As a result, the long-term effect on users and stakeholders is still unclear. The fate of this cosmopolitan trade vision likely depends on the continued success of backroom negotiations between Trump and Xi Jinping.
