China sticks to its stance on TikTok’s US future after Trump call

BEIJING: China stuck to its stance on the future of TikTok in the U.S. on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said a deal to switch short video app TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership was progressing.

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Beijing says TikTok should negotiate freely under market rules and follow Chinese laws, emphasising enterprise independence.
Key issues remain unresolved, including TikToks ownership, control, and what China gains from allowing US involvement.
TikToks fate could influence wider US-China negotiations on trade, tech exports, and economic cooperation.

"China's position on TikTok is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the enterprise, and welcomes it to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules to reach a solution compliant with China's laws and regulations, and strikes a balance of interests," China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement, reiterating a position it has maintained over the past week.

Key questions remain about the potential U.S./China deal after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a call on Friday.

They include the precise ownership structure of TikTok, how much control China will retain over the app's inner workings, and what Beijing gets from backing down and letting the U.S. muscle in on one of China's most successful companies.

Progress over the future of the social media app - which has 170 million U.S. users - is seen key to unlocking concessions in other areas - from airplanes to soybeans - as the world's two largest economies chart a path beyond their current tariff truce.

"It is hoped that the U.S. side will work towards the same goal as China, earnestly fulfil its corresponding commitments, and provide an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory business environment for the continued operation of Chinese enterprises in the U.S., including TikTok," the Commerce Ministry statement added.

Since a framework deal was struck in Madrid earlier this week, Chinese officials and state media have called it a "win-win", promising to review TikTok's technology exports and intellectual property licensing.

The framework deal was one hurdle Trump needed to clear to keep TikTok open. U.S. Congress had originally ordered the app to be shut down for U.S. users by January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.

He Yadong, a spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry, reiterated China's hope that the U.S. reduce the barriers to trade facing Chinese firms, when asked what Beijing had got out of the Madrid deal during a news conference on Thursday.