TikTok issue between US and China ‘very close’ to resolution: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says

According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the United States and China are “very close” to coming to an agreement on the matter pertaining to the well-known short video app TikTok.

The announcement was made as trade talks to ease tensions between the two nations resumed in Madrid. According to Reuters, which cited Bessent, relations would not be impacted even if a deal about Chinese divestment from TikTok were to be finalized. Citing national security concerns, the US is pressuring ByteDance, the Chinese parent firm of the TikTok app, to either divest its US operations or risk being banned in the nation.

Speaking of the progress in resolving the TikTok issue, Bessent stated, “I think on the TikTok deal itself, we are very close or we’ve resolved the issue.” However, he also added that some trade issues largely remain unresolved. “There is a range of other asks that are unresolved,” Bessent added.

In order to address trade imbalances, Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer started a second day of talks with their Chinese counterparts in the Spanish capital. Greer informed the reporters after the conversation that they had not yet “found a path forward on that.”

Without elaborating, the Treasury Secretary also mentioned that the Chinese side, headed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, made a “aggressive ask” during negotiations.

In anticipation of a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the two biggest economies in the world stepped up their engagement in the most recent round of discussions. As early as next month, the leaders are expected to travel to South Korea for a summit. ByteDance Ltd., the company that owns the short-video app TikTok, has until this week to strike an agreement to guarantee its continuous operations in the US.

According to a previous Reuters story, the Trump administration is anticipated to once more extend the TikTok divestiture deadline. According to a senior Treasury official, the first day of the Madrid negotiations lasted almost six hours on Sunday, September 14.