A breakthrough deal may be on the horizon as Washington and Beijing reach a tentative framework for TikTok’s US ownership. But with national security fears and algorithmic control still unresolved, the battle over the world’s most influential app is far from over.
The United States and China have reached a tentative “framework” agreement on the ownership of TikTok’s American operations, opening the door for a potential breakthrough in their strained trade relationship.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the framework on Monday after negotiations in Madrid. He confirmed that President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to finalize the deal later this week. “The framework is in place, and the leaders will complete it on Friday,” Bessent told reporters.
Trump, writing on Truth Social, said the talks had “gone very well,” while Beijing confirmed a preliminary agreement but stressed that no deal would compromise China’s companies or national interests.
The talks come under the pressure of a looming deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operations or face a nationwide ban. The US has long argued that TikTok poses national security risks because of its access to American user data. The deadline — extended three times already — is now set to expire on September 17.
CBS reported that Oracle is among the firms considered to support TikTok’s continued operation in the US, though no final ownership structure has been disclosed. The BBC said it reached out to Oracle, TikTok, the White House, and the Chinese embassy but received no response.
TikTok’s fate has become a flashpoint in the broader US–China trade dispute, where tariffs once soared as high as 145%. Both nations are using the app’s ownership as leverage in ongoing economic negotiations.
According to US officials, the commercial terms of the framework are designed to safeguard national security interests. Still, experts warn that key issues remain unresolved — particularly regarding TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, domestic storage of user data, and safeguards against potential “backdoor” access by Beijing.
Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, cautioned: “Until these details are clarified, the risk is that the deal resolves ownership on paper but leaves core vulnerabilities untouched.”
Jim Secreto, a former national security official, echoed these concerns, noting that ByteDance — one of China’s largest AI firms — remains central to negotiations. “The data TikTok collects from Americans today could help train the models that power China’s military and intelligence capabilities tomorrow,” he said.
For now, the framework represents progress after months of uncertainty. Whether it evolves into a full resolution that satisfies both national security and trade concerns remains to be seen.
