WASHINGTON, July 7 (TNF): US President Donald Trump said on Friday that talks with China on a TikTok deal will start on Monday or Tuesday. He added that the United States “pretty much” has an agreement for the sale of the short-video app.
“I think we’re gonna start Monday or Tuesday… talking to China, perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives. But we pretty much have a deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
In June, Trump extended the deadline to September 17 for China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US assets. A deal had been under discussion this spring to spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new company. The plan would have placed the firm under majority US ownership and control. But the talks stalled after China signaled it would not approve the deal. That response came after Trump announced steep new tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump said China will likely have to approve any final deal. When asked if he believed Beijing would agree, he said, “I’m not confident, but I think so. President Xi and I have a great relationship. I think it’s good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it’s good for us.”
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