TikTok deal on table? Donald Trump hints at signing pact with China this week; to meet Xi Jinping in Seoul

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he may sign a final deal on TikTok with China this Thursday. He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea during his ongoing Asia tour.“I’ve got a lot of respect for President Xi, and I think we’re going to come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Malaysia to Japan after attending the Asean summit, as reported by Reuters. The announcement comes amid growing optimism over a broader US-China trade agreement, following weekend talks in Malaysia that both sides described as “constructive.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said that the two countries had “reached a final deal on TikTok,” with all details now settled and ready for formal approval by the leaders.“My remit was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction, and I believe we successfully accomplished that over the past two days,” Bessent told CBS’s Face the Nation.Under the proposed deal, American investors would hold a majority stake in TikTok’s US operations, while its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would retain less than 20%.ByteDance would also license a version of the app’s algorithm to the US entity, a key step meant to address concerns about data security and Chinese influence.The arrangement is designed to comply with a 2024 US law that effectively bans TikTok unless its Chinese owner divests from American operations.The law was passed over fears that Beijing could gain access to US users’ personal data or use the platform for propaganda.Bessent said the agreement was part of wider progress on trade issues, with both sides reaching preliminary consensus on tariffs, export controls and cooperation on fentanyl trafficking.The meeting between Trump and Xi in Seoul later this week will be their first face-to-face since Trump’s return to office this year.It is expected to finalize the TikTok transaction and possibly pave the way for a broader trade deal.Trump has previously offered mixed signals on TikTok’s future, at one point saying China could determine the app’s fate. “We may let it die, or we may, I don’t know — it depends, up to China,” he said in September, before later praising the platform for helping him reach young voters during his campaign.