US-China Tik Tok Deal Halted? Beijing Hints Rejection Of Offer Over Trump’s Tariffs

<p>A deal between the United States and China to spin off the US assets of Tik Tok was put on hold after President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs.&nbsp;</p>
<p>China halted the deal on Thursday after Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs were announced, with Beijing indicating that it would reject the offer until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.</p>
<p>The deal is aimed at spinning off the app’s operations into a new company based in the US, owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with ByteDance, a Chinese company, maintaining a minority position. The deal’s structure was largely finalised by Wednesday and was approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance, and the US government, news agency Reuters reported.</p>
<p>Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep Tik Tok running in the US for another 75 days which would give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under the owndership of America. However, following the tariffs, ByteDance representatives called the White House hinting China’s disinterest in proceeding with the deal unil negotiations are done, news agency Associated Press reported.</p>
<p>The AP report said that Congress had mandated that Tik Tok be divested from China by January 19 on grounds of national security, but Trump extended the deadline to this weekend, hoping to negotiate an agreement to keep the popular social media site running.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, uncertainty loomed over the deal’s announcement after Chinese government on Friday reversed its position, complicating Tik Tok’s ability to clearly communicate the agreement’s terms as it risked jeopardising the ongoing discussions with Chinese regulators.</p>
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<p>The nearly finalised deal had been in the works for several months, with Vice President JD Vance&rsquo;s team engaging in direct negotiations with multiple prospective investors and ByteDance officials. The deal outlined a 120-day period for closing, during which all paperwork and financing would be completed.</p>
<p>The Trump administration had believed that China would greenlight the proposed deal until the tariffs were implemented. On Friday, Trump expressed optimism that an agreement could still be reached during the 75-day extension period.</p>
<p>”My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”</p>
<p>He added, “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to finalize the Deal.”</p>
<p>ByteDance had confirmed in a statement that it has been discussing a “potential solution” with the US government but an “agreement has not been executed.” The company’s spokesperson said that the key matters are yet to be resolved and that “any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” AP reported.</p>
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