Trump and Xi Set for Talks on TikTok Deal and US-China Trade Relations

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump is set to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday to finalize an agreement that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, while also addressing broader trade relations between the two countries.

“I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok and also trade,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “And we’re very close to deals on all of it”.

He added that his relationship with Beijing was “very good,” but argued that Russia’s war in Ukraine could be brought to an end if European nations imposed higher tariffs on China.

The call was first announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after a trade meeting with Chinese officials in Madrid earlier this week.

Bessent said negotiators had reached a framework deal on TikTok’s ownership, which Trump and Xi are expected to finalize during Friday’s conversation.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not confirm the call or any upcoming summit, though spokesperson Liu Pengyu emphasized that “heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations”.

According to US media reports, the discussion could also signal whether Trump and Xi will meet in person to resolve their trade dispute, which has escalated since Trump returned to the White House and imposed steep tariffs on China. The call will mark their second direct conversation since his inauguration.

Four rounds of trade talks between senior US and Chinese officials have taken place from May through September, with further negotiations expected in the weeks ahead. While both sides have temporarily suspended some tariffs and eased restrictions on exports, significant disputes remain unresolved.

Trump has underscored his willingness to negotiate over TikTok, which faces a US ban unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its controlling stake.

He has repeatedly extended the deadline for a deal, required under legislation passed last year that sought to address data privacy and national security concerns.

“TikTok has tremendous value,” Trump said. “And the US has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it”.

The app’s ownership and algorithm have been central sticking points, with US officials warning that Chinese law compels companies to hand over data to authorities.

On Monday, Chinese officials announced that a consensus had been reached on authorizing the “use of intellectual property rights,” including TikTok’s algorithm, and that both sides agreed to entrust a third-party partner with handling US user data and content security.

The two leaders last spoke in June, when they sought to ease tensions over Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports, which are critical for industries ranging from smartphones to fighter jets.