WASHINGTON – U.S. President Trump is speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday to finalize a deal to allow popular social media app Tiktok to continue operating in the U.S.
A White House official said China’s Xinhua News Agency.
The call may provide clues about whether the two leaders can meet in person to end the final agreement on the trade war and clearly illustrate where the relationship between the two superpowers in the world might be.
This will be the second call with XI since Trump returns to the White House and initiates high tariffs Chinatriggering back and forth trade restrictions on tensions between the two largest economies. But Republican Trump has expressed his willingness to negotiate a trade deal with Beijing, especially for social video platforms facing a U.S. ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its control.
The two men also spoke in June to ease tensions China’s Export restrictions on various rare earth elements from smartphones to fighters.
“As you know, I talked to Xi on Friday, with Tiktok and deals,” Trump said on Thursday. “And we’re very close to all deals.”
He said he and China It is “very good”, but points out that if European countries put higher tariffs on European countries, Russia’s war in Ukraine may end China. Trump did not say whether he intends to charge Beijing for Moscow oil like India does.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not confirm any upcoming summit between leaders on Thursday, but spokesman Liu Pengyu China– US relations. ”
Sun Yun, Director China The Washington-based think tank center’s plan predicts positive discussions.
“There is a strong desire for leadership summits to happen, and the details are in the trade agreement and the goals that both sides can achieve at the summit,” Sun said.
Follow the United States –China At a trade meeting in Madrid earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides reached a framework agreement on Tiktok ownership, but Trump and Xi Jinping may finalize it on Friday.
Trump once attributed the app to helping him win another term, but has extended the deadline several times from its Chinese parent company beast. This is a requirement that allows Tiktok to continue operating in the U.S. under the laws passed last year in an effort to address data privacy and national security issues.
Trump said Tiktok “has a huge value” and that the United States “has that value because we are the ones who have to approve it.”
U.S. officials have been worried beast Root and ownership, point out the law China This requires Chinese companies to hand over the data required by the government. Another problem is the proprietary algorithm that fills what users see on Tiktok.
Chinese officials said on Monday that a consensus was reached under the authorization of “intellectual property” (including algorithms) that the two parties agreed to entrust partners to process our user data and content security.
Ranking of the Chinese Communist Party’s House Selection Committee, Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said Tiktok’s data and algorithms must be “really in the hands of the United States” to comply with the law.
U.S. and Chinese officials held four rounds of trade talks between May and September, and another round in the coming weeks. Both sides suspended high tariffs and retreated from strict export controls, but many problems remained unresolved.
Trump “may try to give the U.S. an upper hand in trade negotiations,” said Ali Wyne, senior U.S. research and advocacy adviser.China The issue of the International Crisis Group.
XI “may seek emphasis China’s Economic leverage and warnings ongoing progress in bilateral relations will depend on loose U.S. tariffs, sanctions and export controls. ” Wyne said.
There has been no announcement on the technology export restrictions, and China’s transactions to purchase American agricultural products or fentanyl. The Trump administration imposed a 20% tariff on Chinese goods that have alleged that Beijing failed to block U.S. chemicals used to produce opioids.
Trump’s second trade war with Beijing has made American farmers one of their top markets. From January to July, American farms export to China Compared with the same period last year, it was down 53%. In some commodities, the loss is greater: U.S. sorghum sales ChinaFor example, a 97% drop.
Josh Gackle, chairman of the American Soybean Association, said he will follow the results of Friday’s call because ChinaIt is the largest foreign buyer of American legumes and has stopped buying new crops this year.
“There is still time. It’s encouraging that both countries continue to speak,” Garkel said. “I think it’s getting more and more frustrating at the peasant level, and they haven’t reached an agreement yet.”
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman contributed to the report.
