US and China agree deal over TikTok ownership

Two years after the US congress threatened to ban the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, Washington and Beijing have agreed a deal.  

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the announcement after trade talks with Beijing in Spain. 

Bessent said US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak on Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He said the objective was to switch to US ownership from China’s ByteDance.

Under former US President Joe Biden, Congress approved a US ban on TikTok unless ByteDance sold its controlling stake in the platform. Washington said Chinese laws that require companies to hand over data requested by the government constituted a national security risk.  

Following the talks, China’s representative said there was consensus on authorising the use of TikTok’s algorithm. The algorithm determines what populates a user's feed and had been a main sticking point in the deal. 

While no buyer has been announced, media reports suggest that US tech giant Oracle may be part of a consortium that would allow TikTok operations to continue in the United States.  

China said the two countries have also reached “basic framework consensus” to resolve the TikTok-related issue, reduce investment barriers and promote economic and trade cooperation.