The United States and China have finalized an agreement on TikTok’s future, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday, marking the culmination of months of high-stakes negotiations that have dominated Washington–Beijing tech relations.
Bessent, speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation from Kuala Lumpur, said both sides had completed all outstanding details of the long-awaited deal, which will be formally concluded when U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Korea later this week.
“We reached one in Madrid, and I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out,” Bessent said. “That will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”
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Bessent, who has spearheaded negotiations on behalf of the U.S. Treasury, declined to provide specifics of the agreement but said his primary goal — securing China’s approval for the transaction — had been achieved.
“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,” he said.
The Structure of the Deal
The agreement follows a legislation signed by former President Joe Biden, requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. Trump had extended the deadline several times as both the U.S. and China negotiated the structure of the transaction.
Under the terms of the deal, TikTok’s U.S. operations — including its proprietary recommendation algorithm, source code, and content moderation systems — will be placed under a new board of directors based in the United States. Oracle, led by Trump ally Larry Ellison, will assume control of data security and infrastructure oversight to ensure compliance with U.S. national security requirements.
Investment firms, including Fox Corporation, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management, will hold equity stakes in the restructured TikTok entity, with Fox’s participation apparently confirmed by Trump in recent remarks. But the involvement of Fox — owner of Fox News and a long-time Trump media ally — is expected to draw scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest and political influence within the entertainment and social media industry.
The deal represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in the Trump administration’s tech and trade diplomacy with China since 2020, when the U.S. first moved to restrict Chinese technology firms over security concerns.
The White House has framed the TikTok agreement as a model for balancing economic engagement with digital sovereignty.
For China, the resolution comes amid intensifying scrutiny over its export controls on rare earth minerals. Chinese regulators had previously hesitated to approve ByteDance’s sale, citing sovereignty over its proprietary algorithms.
Weighing The Impact
Analysts say the finalized TikTok deal could serve as a template for how the U.S. manages Chinese-owned digital platforms operating on American soil. The arrangement — which retains ByteDance’s minority ownership but shifts operational control to a U.S.-based entity — could pave the way for a new regulatory model balancing foreign investment and national security oversight.
It is believed this could be the first truly hybrid tech governance structure between the U.S. and China, and if it works, could redefine how both countries handle cross-border data management in the future.
The deal also represents a political win for Trump, who has repeatedly promised to “make America the digital capital of the world.” His administration’s push for U.S. oversight of TikTok aligns with his broader strategy to repatriate digital infrastructure, boost domestic technology investment, and project U.S. influence in the global tech economy.
The final signing of the TikTok agreement is scheduled to coincide with the Trump–Xi summit in Seoul later this week. Both leaders are expected to hold a joint press briefing afterward, potentially unveiling details of the transaction and outlining next steps for implementation.
If approved and executed smoothly, the deal could end years of uncertainty over TikTok’s fate in the U.S. market, ensuring the platform’s continued operation while addressing Washington’s national security concerns.
For Beijing, the agreement allows it to preserve face by retaining some control over ByteDance’s intellectual property. Bessent said an official statement outlining the structure of the new TikTok entity will be released after the leaders’ meeting in Korea.
