Summary: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently engaged in productive trade talks with Chinese officials in Malaysia, leading to significant progress on the TikTok deal. The agreement, reportedly finalized during earlier meetings in Madrid, aims to give an American consortium control over TikTok’s U.S. operations, with a formal announcement expected when Presidents Trump and Xi meet next week in South Korea.
Trade Negotiations in Malaysia
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has spent the past two days in Malaysia, holding trade discussions with Chinese representatives. Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation this Sunday, Bessent described the talks as “a very good two days.” He indicated that the deal to transfer control of TikTok to an American company is essentially finalized and ready to be sealed during the upcoming meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi in South Korea.
The TikTok Deal Details
Bessent revealed that much of the negotiation took place last month in Madrid, during his trip to Spain and the UK. This sheds light on President Trump’s cryptic statement on Truth Social from September 19, where he mentioned, “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”
What ‘TikTok Approval’ Might Mean
Last spring, a formal ban on TikTok was passed in the U.S., which was set to take effect in January. However, President Trump has delayed enforcing this ban, possibly to allow time for negotiations aimed at bringing TikTok under U.S. control rather than outright banning it.
The Future of TikTok in the U.S.
Rumors suggest that the U.S. will have significant control over a new version of TikTok tailored for American users. The plan appears to involve spinning off a separate app for the U.S. market, controlled by a consortium of U.S.-based investors, including the Murdoch family, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell. Meanwhile, ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, would retain ownership of the algorithm and license it to the U.S. spinoff.
Bessent was cautious with details but confirmed, “My remit was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction, and I believe we successfully accomplished that over the past two days.”