TikTok's Fate Sealed? Washington and Beijing Agree 'Framework' for US Takeover of Viral App

Washington and Beijing have reportedly made a breakthrough with the ownership transfer of TikTok, the social media platform.

Jamieson Greer, a US trade representative, said that parties from the US and China have reached a framework agreement. In addition, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also stated that the deal will be confirmed this Friday. At the same time, Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang said both governments had reached a consensus after prolonged disputes over security concerns.

State of Negotiations Between China and US

Speaking in Madrid, Bessent said a framework had been agreed but declined to provide commercial details, describing the matter as 'between two private parties'. He noted that the deal addresses US national security concerns that have long been a concern for the platform.

Chinese negotiator Li Chenggang confirmed that both sides had cooperated to resolve outstanding issues. The breakthrough follows years of political wrangling and three extensions to TikTok's US sale deadline.

Notably, the commercial terms were not unpacked as Bessent declined to entertain inquiries about it.

The TikTok ownership matter has been a long-running dispute, with its sale to the US having reached three extensions. This follows national security concerns that were raised since Joe Biden was in office.

To recap, ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, was given nine months to sell the platform to a US-approved buyer. Failure to comply would have resulted in a total ban, with its deadline repeatedly extended courtesy of US President Donald Trump.

The US has an estimated 135 million active users on TikTok. The platform's sale is certainly unprecedented amid the alarms raised by US officials concerning national security.

Strangely, the White House is on the platform as well, having launched its official account last month. In fact, US government devices are prohibited from using the app under federal law.

Now, the deal, which addresses US security concerns, is set to be confirmed this Friday. Bessent says that a call will be held between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

Trump confirmed the Madrid meeting via a post on Truth Social, where he said the meeting went 'very well'. He also mentioned that the relationship (presumably between the US and China) remains a strong one.

History of Possible Owners

The tug-of-war between TikTok's ownership dates back to 2020. Initially, Trump ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok or risk shutting down.

Biden signed this into law last year, with Microsoft being one of the more prominent potential buyers back then. They intended to acquire the company in a deal worth billions.

Talks were pretty high profile, with CEO Satya Nadella directly engaging with Trump on the matter. However, it fell apart as Nadella noted that it was 'the strangest deal' he's ever worked on.

Following Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart, other companies were also in prime positions to purchase TikTok's US operations. The companies even proposed a joint acquisition called TikTok Global.

Unfortunately, this move was put on hold after the Biden administration held a review of Chinese tech companies at the time. Notably, Oracle has stayed as TikTok's US cloud provider since 2022 to address security concerns.