After Meeting With Xi, Trump Has News on TikTok

Trump talked with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone on Friday in a push to finalize a deal to allow TikTok to keep operating in the US. According to the Wall Street Journal, that deal was approved, with a group of investors set to take control of the company's US operations. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, "We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal." Trump, who later in the post wrote that he "[appreciated] the TikTok approval," also noted he and Xi will meet at the APEC Summit next month in South Korea, and that he'll travel to China early next year, with Xi hoping to visit the US "at an appropriate time," per the AP. More:

• Not so fast: It appears the Journal may have jumped the gun on a TikTok green light, however—a White House official told CNBC that while "significant progress" had been made, no deal has yet been reached.
• China: A readout from Chinese state agency Xinhua seemed to comport with the "no deal" narrative, noting, "The US side hopes to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, will support consultations between the two teams, and properly resolve the TikTok issue."
• More on TikTok: Following a US-China trade meeting earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sides had reached a framework deal on TikTok's ownership, but that Trump and Xi likely would finalize it Friday. Trump has extended a deadline for the app to be spun off from ByteDance several times, a requirement to allow TikTok to keep operating in the US under a law passed last year on data privacy and national security concerns.

• Context: This is the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the world's two largest economies. But Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for TikTok.
• Trade: Top US and Chinese officials have held four rounds of trade talks between May and September, with another likely in coming weeks. Both sides have paused high tariffs and pulled back from harsh export controls, but many issues remain. In his call, Trump was expected to "seek to make it appear that the United States has the upper hand in trade negotiations," says the International Crisis Group's Ali Wyne. Xi would likely try "to underscore China's economic leverage and warn that continued progress in bilateral relations will hinge on an easing of US tariffs, sanctions, and export controls."

More here.