WASHINGTON: Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Friday, seeking a breakthrough on the fate of video app TikTok and to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies locked in a prolonged trade standoff.
The call, their first in three months, began at 8 a.m. Eastern time (1200 GMT), according to a U.S. official. China’s state broadcaster CCTV confirmed the talks but gave no details, while the White House did not immediately comment.
A potential agreement on TikTok was high on the agenda, alongside broader trade issues. Trump has declined to enforce a congressional order requiring TikTok’s U.S. assets to be sold by ByteDance or face a shutdown by January 2025, citing political and user backlash.
“I like TikTok; it helped get me elected,” Trump said on Thursday. “TikTok has tremendous value. The United States has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it.”
TikTok at the Center of Talks
Beijing’s final approval of a framework deal reached earlier this week remains a hurdle. Sources told Reuters the agreement would transfer TikTok’s U.S. assets to American owners but still allow the platform to use ByteDance’s algorithm — a sticking point for U.S. lawmakers concerned about potential surveillance and influence operations. China has insisted there is no evidence TikTok poses a national security threat.
Trump is considering an in-person summit with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on October 30–November 1, Reuters has reported.
Trade and Tariff Pressures
The call also touched on wider trade issues. Trump has escalated tariffs to the highest levels in nearly a century, targeting China’s export-driven economy with punitive measures that Beijing has matched. Tariff rates on both sides reached triple-digit percentages in April, though a series of limited deals since May has paused the tit-for-tat escalation.
“We’re pretty close to a deal,” Trump said Thursday, adding he may extend current trade terms with China. U.S. demands include increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and Boeing aircraft, and a crackdown on exports of fentanyl-related chemicals, which Washington blames for worsening U.S. overdose deaths.
Trump has also threatened additional tariffs tied to China’s purchases of Russian oil but has so far held off.
Strategic Competition
The U.S. and China remain at odds over semiconductors, rare earths, Taiwan, and the South China Sea. Analysts say Beijing has used both incentives and pressure effectively in talks.
“China’s effective use of sticks (rare earths) and carrots (TikTok) has turned things heavily in their favor,” said Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Despite the frictions, China remains the U.S.’ third-largest trading partner and its largest source of goods trade deficit.
Ahead of the leaders’ call, Beijing allowed Wells Fargo banker Chenyue Mao to leave China after being prevented from returning to the U.S. for several months — a move seen as an early goodwill gesture.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said: “Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations.”
