Trump says TikTok deal reached as US, China spar over algorithm

• Trump said TikTok can stay in the US, but the algorithm is disputed.
• Washington wants separation; Beijing insists the algorithm stays licensed.

Donald Trump said this week that his administration has struck a deal with China to keep TikTok operating in the United States, though the final shape of the agreement is still uncertain, as reported by CNBC. Beijing has suggested it will keep control of the algorithm that drives the app’s video feed, raising questions about whether the deal would satisfy US lawmakers.

“We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said Tuesday, without giving further details.

Talks in Madrid between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng laid the groundwork for the deal. Under the framework, TikTok’s US assets would shift from ByteDance to American owners. But the future of the algorithm, which determines what users see on their feeds, remains one of the most contentious issues.

At a press conference in Madrid, Wang Jingtao, deputy head of China’s cyber security regulator, said the framework included “licensing the algorithm and other intellectual property rights.” He also said ByteDance would “entrust the operation of TikTok’s US user data and content security.” His comments led some observers to believe that TikTok’s US version could still depend on the Chinese algorithm.

That possibility is not new. At arguments before the US Supreme Court in January, a lawyer for ByteDance told the justices that selling TikTok to an American company would be nearly impossible because Chinese law restricts the sale of the algorithm. The code has been central to TikTok’s rise into one of the world’s most popular apps and is considered its most valuable asset.

US officials, however, have long warned that the algorithm is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities. Lawmakers fear Beijing could influence what appears on TikTok’s feed, shaping opinions without users realising it. TikTok has rejected these claims and said Washington has never presented proof that China interfered with content on the US version of the platform.

The legal backdrop remains tense. The House Select Committee on China has said any agreement must follow US law requiring Tiktok to cut ties with Chinese ownership or face a ban. “It wouldn’t be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” a spokesperson for the committee said.

Trump’s administration has extended the deadline to enforce a ban against TikTok until December 16, the fourth time the timeline has been pushed back. The delay prevents a law, signed in 2024 by then-president Joe Biden, from shutting down TikTok in the US over concerns tied to ByteDance’s ownership. Trump has often praised TikTok and used it heavily during his 2024 campaign, and his reluctance to see the app banned has been clear. “We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said Tuesday, adding he would “hate to see value like that thrown out the window.”

China has framed the Madrid talks as a diplomatic success. State media described the framework as a “win-win” outcome and said Beijing would review TikTok’s technology exports and licensing terms under its own laws. The official People’s Daily, in a commentary signed “Zhong Sheng” or “Voice of China,” said the agreement reflected “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”

Investors are watching closely as both sides prepare for a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, when the agreement is expected to be confirmed. The future of the app, which counts 170 million US users, has become a symbol of whether Washington and Beijing can find common ground as they try to move beyond their tariff truce and wider economic disputes.

This isn’t the first time negotiators have reached an arrangement on TikTok. A similar deal earlier this year collapsed after Trump imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods. That setback has added pressure on the latest talks, which are now seen as a test of whether the two sides can keep politics from derailing commercial agreements.

Bessent has signalled that if needed, the deadline could be extended by another 90 days beyond September 17 to give negotiators more time to finalise the deal. For now, the framework has given TikTok a reprieve, but the fate of its algorithm—and whether Washington will accept Beijing’s terms—remains unresolved.

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