China maintained its stance on the future of TikTok in the US on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said a deal to transfer the short-video app to US-controlled ownership was making progress.
“China’s position on TikTok is clear: The Chinese government respects the enterprise’s wishes and encourages it to conduct commercial negotiations under market rules to reach a solution compliant with Chinese laws and regulations, balancing all interests,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement, reiterating the position it has held over the past week.
Key questions remain about the potential US-China deal following a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
These include the exact ownership structure of TikTok, how much control China will retain over the app, and what Beijing gains by allowing US involvement in one of its most successful tech companies.
The resolution of TikTok’s future, with its 170 million US users, is seen as pivotal to unlocking concessions in other sectors from airplanes to soybeans as the world’s two largest economies seek a path beyond their current tariff truce.
The Commerce Ministry added, “It is hoped that the US side will work toward the same goal as China, honor its commitments, and provide an open, fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory business environment for the continued operation of Chinese enterprises in the US, including TikTok.”
Since a framework deal was struck in Madrid earlier this week, Chinese officials and state media have described it as a “win-win,” while 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.
US Congress had originally ordered the app to be shut down for US users by January 2025 if its US assets were not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.
He Yadong, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry, reiterated China’s hope that the US 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.
