President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and China have reached a deal on TikTok. The deal will transfer the assets of the ByteDance-owned short-video app to its US owner so it can continue operating in the country. The deal potentially resolves a saga that has dragged on for nearly a year.

The deal for the popular social media app, which has 170 million users in the US, represents a breakthrough in months of negotiations between the world's two largest economies in an effort to defuse a trade war that has roiled global markets.

"We've reached a deal with TikTok. We have a group of very large companies that want to buy it," Trump said, without providing further details. The announcement came a day before the September 17 deadline to sell or shut down the app.

He praised the trade deal, calling it a win-win situation for both countries, and said it would preserve the company's value by tens of billions of dollars. Any deal would likely require approval from the Republican-controlled Congress. Congress passed legislation in 2024 under the Biden administration requiring the divestment of TikTok due to concerns that its U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government. This could allow Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.

The Trump administration refused to enforce the law, fearing it would anger TikTok's large user base and disrupt political communication. Instead, the Trump administration extended the divestment deadline three times. Trump is expected to extend the deadline a fourth time.

Trump has praised the app for helping him win re-election last year, and his personal account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account last month. CNBC reported on Tuesday that the deal is expected to close in the next 30 to 45 days, and that the deal will include existing investors in TikTok's China-based parent, ByteDance, and new investors.

Reuters has not independently verified CNBC's report. However, the details align with a Reuters report in April that stated the deal would spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based company, majority owned and operated by US investors.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that the commercial terms of the deal had been essentially agreed upon since around March, with only a few details remaining to be finalized.

"This deal wouldn't have happened without adequate protections for US national security," Bessent said. "It appears we're also capable of meeting China's interests." (alg)

Source: Reuters