US and China reach ‘final deal’ on TikTok sale, treasury secretary says | TikTok
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Sunday that the US and China had finalized details of a deal to transfer the US version of TikTok to new owners.
“We have reached a final agreement on TikTok,” Bessent said in question Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. Referring to Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Bessent continued: [a deal] In Madrid, and I believe as of today, all the details have been worked out and it depends on the two leaders completing this transaction during a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Korea.
Bessent did not disclose details of the deal. But he said it was part of a broader framework agreed by both the United States and China for a potential trade deal that will be discussed when Trump and Xi meet in the coming days.
Bessent’s comments came after Trump signed the agreement. executive order On September 25, the path opens for a new US-based ownership agreement with the majority of American investors.
“I am not part of the business side of the transaction,” Bessent added. “My mission was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction, and I believe we have successfully accomplished this in the last two days.”
Trump’s 19-year-old son, Barron Trump, floating by Jack Advent, the president’s former social media producer, as a potential board member. Trump stated that new US investors include conservative media owners Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison.
During his first presidency in 2020, Trump threatened to ban TikTok in 2020 in retaliation for China’s response to Covid-19.
Congress had agreed to ban the practice before it was signed into law by Joe Biden in April 2024, during Trump’s two terms as president. It was scheduled to go into effect on January 20, 2025, but was extended four times by Trump as his administration tried to develop a deal to transfer ownership.
The value of the deal is estimated at $14 billion. The majority of U.S. and international investors will own approximately 65% of the company; ByteDance and Chinese investors will own less than 20%.
Trump’s executive order hands Oversight of the app’s algorithm to new investors, including six out of seven seats on the board.
Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit as part of his five-day continental tour, and Trump and Xi are expected to meet face to face on Thursday.
The two expected Soybean and agricultural purchases from US farmers, the trade balance, and the American fentanyl crisis, which is cited as the basis for Trump’s 20% tariff on Chinese imports, will be discussed.
