Trump Says U.S. to Begin Talks With China This Week on TikTok Deal, Claims “We Pretty Much Have a Deal”

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States will begin formal talks with China this week over a potential agreement involving TikTok, the popular short-form video platform owned by China-based ByteDance.

The president, speaking aboard Air Force One, said discussions could begin as early as Monday or Tuesday, and may involve Chinese President Xi Jinping directly or one of his representatives.

“I think we’re gonna start Monday or Tuesday … talking to China – perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives – but we pretty much have a deal,” Trump said, suggesting that a framework for resolving the long-standing standoff over TikTok’s U.S. operations is already in place.

The president also floated the possibility of a diplomatic visit between the two leaders. “I might go there, or Xi might come here,” Trump added.

Last month, Trump and Xi formally invited each other for official visits amid efforts to manage growing tensions over trade and technology.

Trump’s remarks come after he issued a third executive order extending ByteDance’s deadline to sell or divest TikTok’s U.S. business to September 17, offering a temporary reprieve that avoids an outright ban on the platform. That order followed an earlier June 19 deadline, which itself had replaced a previous timeline set in April.

ByteDance’s failure to meet those earlier deadlines had put TikTok on the brink of being shut down in the U.S., where the app has amassed a user base of over 170 million people and plays a prominent role in American pop culture and political discourse. The White House’s stated concern has centered on the app’s potential to expose Americans’ data to the Chinese government, a claim TikTok has repeatedly denied.

Previously, during Trump’s first tenure, negotiations were underway to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a U.S.-controlled firm, with ownership split among American investors. But progress stalled after Beijing signaled it would not approve such a deal. The current negotiation has spilled into a sweeping package of tariffs on Chinese goods — announced by Trump, which is widely interpreted as re-escalating economic tensions between the two powers.

Beijing’s Silence — and a Tense Backdrop

Notably, China has remained largely silent on TikTok in recent weeks, even as discussions over its fate have intensified in Washington. While that quietude might appear strategic, observers say it also reflects the broader tariff standoff between Beijing and the Trump administration. With trade friction escalating and TikTok’s ownership now entangled in a larger geopolitical contest, the upcoming talks are not expected to be smooth.

China’s position, however unstated recently, was more transparent earlier in the year. In the spring, officials made clear that any forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations would be viewed as a violation of its sovereignty and intellectual property rights. The Chinese Commerce Ministry added TikTok’s algorithm to its list of restricted technologies, signaling it would use its export controls to block any sale that included core software or recommendation systems.

Given this backdrop, analysts say that while Trump’s optimism is politically useful, the road to a final agreement remains rocky. The White House may need to negotiate not just a commercial transaction, but a face-saving arrangement that Beijing can accept without appearing to yield under pressure.

TikTok Thanks Trump and Vance, as Congress Watches Closely

Shortly after Trump’s comments, TikTok issued a statement thanking the president and Vice President J.D. Vance.

“We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership,” the statement read, adding that TikTok “will continue to work with Vice President Vance’s office to come to an agreement.”

Vance has emerged as a key intermediary in the process and has advocated for an approach that secures U.S. national security concerns without banning the platform outright — a move that could draw backlash from millions of users, particularly young voters.

But not everyone in Washington is pleased. Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed the executive order approach as circumventing Congress.

“The Supreme Court ruled the ban lawful. Yet the administration keeps issuing delays. This sets a troubling precedent,” Warner said in a statement.

He added that any future agreement must include enforceable safeguards on data privacy and content moderation, warning that a “cosmetic ownership change” would not suffice.

Though Trump suggested a deal is within reach, he admitted that China’s approval is still a key hurdle.

“I’m not confident, but I think so,” he said of Beijing’s willingness to sign off. “President Xi and I have a great relationship, and I think it’s good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it’s good for us.”

Behind the scenes, officials on both sides are reportedly exploring alternative structures, such as creating a U.S.-governed data firewall, licensing agreements, or partial ownership swaps to sidestep full divestment — any of which would require delicate diplomatic choreography.

Currently, TikTok remains online and under scrutiny, with its future hinging on complex negotiations that blend global politics with technology regulation. The countdown to September has started, and so has the next round of U.S.-China bargaining. Whether a deal can bridge the divide between tech sovereignty and security concerns remains an open — and consequential — question.