Washington, DC [US], September 20 : US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the TikTok deal for the video-sharing platform to continue operating in the US.
Speaking with the reporters at the Oval Office, President Trump said, "I had a good call with President Xi. He approved the TikTok deal. We look forward to getting the deal closed. We have to get it signed; it could be a formality. The TikTok deal is on its way, and the investors are getting ready."
Trump mentioned that the US will have "tight control" over the app, emphasising that this is a "very good deal" for Washington.
"We are going to have very tight control. It is an amazing thing that has been created... I am a little prejudiced because I frankly did so well on it. It got me numbers that nobody has ever even heard before. The young people of this country want it. The parents of the young people want it badly. So we were able to work out a deal with China. It's a very good deal for us. I hope it's a good deal for them... These are American investors... They are very famous people financially. They'll have control of it. I want to thank President Xi because he was a gentleman. We just had a good relationship," Trump said.
Trump and Xi Jinping had a telephonic conversation today during which they discussed various issues, including the Chinese app TikTok, which faces a threat of being banned after the former US President Joe Biden's administration passed legislation to force the platform to divest itself of its ownership by the Chinese internet company ByteDance.
Shortly after Trump's conversation with Xi Jinping, ByteDance issued a statement that the company will advance with the related work that allows TikTok to continue functioning in the US.
"Bytedance statement on TikTok: We thank President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump for their attention to TikTok. ByteDance will advance related work in accordance with the requirements of Chinese law, allowing TikTok U.S. to continue serving American users well," the statement read.
The legislation, which was passed in April 2024, aimed to ban the app from January 19, 2025, but the Trump government has not yet enforced it.
The US is eager to strike a deal with China that allows US investors to have more control of TikTok.
"According to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, which quoted people familiar with the deal, the proposed agreement between Beijing and Washington is set to see a group of American investors control 80 per cent of TikTok, while the remaining 20 per cent will be controlled by Chinese firms, including ByteDance.
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