TikTok: A Sensitive Issue at the Heart of Trump and Xi Jinping’s Discussions
It is expected that U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have a phone call this Friday, focused on a highly sensitive matter: the future of the TikTok app in the United States. According to Reuters, this topic tops the agenda, alongside other trade issues, marking the first direct communication between the two leaders in three months.
The U.S. Congress has enacted legislation requiring the Chinese company that owns the app, ByteDance, to divest its American assets by January 2025; otherwise, TikTok will be banned in the country. However, upon his return to the White House, Trump decided to temporarily suspend the enforcement of this law, preferring to explore an American acquisition deal that would keep the app available and avoid upsetting its large user base. He stated, “I love TikTok; it helped me win the elections.”
The proposed deal involves transferring ownership of the app’s U.S. operations to American parties while allowing ByteDance to retain the recommendation algorithm, the most crucial component of the platform’s success. However, this scenario has raised concerns among several members of Congress who believe that retaining Chinese technology could keep the door open for influence or espionage from Beijing.
