A TikTok app is shown on a tablet in 2020. Monday, President Donald Trump implied that the United States and China have reached a deal for TikTok to operate in America. File Photo by Alex Plaveski/EPA
Sept. 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump hinted that the United States and China have secured a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operations in America.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly. A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!! President DJT.”
Diplomats from both countries are meeting in Madrid this week to discuss trade. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the latest round of trade talks with China, said TikTok was one of the subjects they would likely discuss.
Trump has repeatedly extended a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal with China to sell part of its U.S. TikTok business to an American owner.
In June, Trump extended a pause on legislation banning TikTok from operating in the United States a third time, extending it for 90 more days to allow time for a deal to split the firm’s U.S. business from its Chinese parent company.
The U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously on Jan. 17 that TikTok must be banned from U.S. app stores unless the company divested from the platform and sold to an American company by Jan. 19.
The app went dark for about one day. But the next day, the company restored service after Trump said he would pause the deadline for 75 days when he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20. He signed an executive order to do so on his first day in office, and has since pushed off the deadline two more times, with it now delayed until Sept. 17.
