The United States and China have agreed a framework deal that will allow TikTok, the popular video app owned by chinese ByteDance, to remain operational in America under local controllers ownership. The agreement came after high-stakes negotiations in Madrid, where US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese officials during larger talks on trade policy.
Central to the deal is that TikTok’s US arm will be transferred to ownership controlled by Americans, addressing concerns in Washington about data security, algorithmic transparency, and the influence of Chinese law over ByteDance. While the precise commercial terms, such as valuation, buyer identity, or details about algorithm control, have not been made public, officials say those have already been agreed between private parties.
The deal arrives just ahead of a critical deadline of September 17, in two days, under US law (PAFACA), which mandates that ByteDance divest TikTok or face a national ban. Because of the framework agreement, there may be a short extension to allow time for full implementation, to be confirmed.
What happens next depends on formalisation by the two presidents. A phone call is scheduled for Friday between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize the framework. Also, Congress will likely have to approve elements of the deal, given that the US law requiring divestiture was enacted by Congress and has strict requirements.
Stakeholders on both sides are watching closely. For Americans, keeping TikTok functioning avoids shutdown disruptions for over 135 million users, plus the economic and political fallout from banning a hugely popular social platform. For China, the deal preserves certain characteristics of the app, which officials say are part of soft power, even while ownership shifts. If carried through, the agreement could set a precedent for how foreign tech companies are treated under US national security law.