Madrid, Spain: The United States and China have reached a framework agreement to transfer TikTok’s US operations into American-controlled ownership, marking a breakthrough in one of the most contentious disputes between the two economic powers.
The deal, announced after high-level negotiations in Madrid, comes just days before a September 17 deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban in the US.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the agreement, calling it a ‘framework deal that lays the groundwork for final approval by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a scheduled meeting on Friday. “The commercial terms have been agreed upon,” Bessent said, though he declined to provide details.
Jamieson Greer, a US trade representative, stressed that the time for repeated postponements had ended. “We’re not going to be in the business of having repetitive extensions. We have a deal,” he said.
Li Chenggang, China’s top trade negotiator, also confirmed the agreement but emphasized that Beijing would not compromise its firms’ core interests.
The dispute over TikTok centers on Washington’s fears that Beijing could exploit the platform for surveillance or influence operations. With more than 170 million US users, including the White House’s own official account, the app’s reach has alarmed national security officials.
The Justice Department has accused ByteDance of collecting sensitive user data and warned that TikTok posed national-security threat of immense depth and scale. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray cautioned that Chinese laws could compel ByteDance to hand over data or manipulate TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm.
TikTok has denied the allegations, insisting its US operations are independent and that no data has been shared with Chinese authorities.
#China, #US reach basic framework consensus on resolving issues related to #TikTok through cooperation. pic.twitter.com/KEEQl7IdMX
— Chinese Embassy in US (@ChineseEmbinUS) September 15, 2025
The ownership battle stretches back to 2020, when Trump first ordered ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US division. Microsoft, Walmart, and Oracle all pursued bids, with Oracle and Walmart proposing a joint venture called TikTok Global. That effort collapsed under regulatory review.
TikTok briefly went dark in January 2025 when a ban took effect, with Apple and Google removing the app from their stores. Trump reversed the shutdown within hours, granting a temporary extension that has since been prolonged several times.
Oracle remains TikTok’s US cloud provider and is reported to be part of the consortium that could assume control under the new deal.
Trump signaled optimism in a post on Truth Social, writing that young Americans will be very happy with the outcome. But final approval now depends on both Trump and Xi at their Friday meeting.
