Trump, Xi discuss TikTok, US-China trade on call
text_fields
Washington: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Friday, with expectations that the discussion would touch on the future of the popular video app TikTok as well as trade issues. Chinese state media, including CCTV and Xinhua, reported that the call had begun.
A day earlier, Trump had told Fox News that he planned to raise both TikTok and trade during the conversation, adding that agreements on these matters were close and that his ties with China remained strong. This was the second time the two leaders had spoken since Trump began his second term in January.
Earlier, on June 5, Trump had said Xi invited him to visit China, and that he had extended a similar invitation for Xi to visit the US. While no trips have been scheduled yet, analysts suggested that Xi might reiterate his invitation during Friday’s call, noting Trump’s fondness for elaborate state receptions abroad.
The phone conversation between Trump and President Xi Jinping was seen as a possible step toward resolving the TikTok dispute, which had dragged on after Trump repeatedly delayed a ban under a US law requiring the Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its American operations on national security grounds, AFP reported.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said he hoped to finalise an agreement on TikTok soon. He explained that under the proposed arrangement, the app’s US arm would be owned by American investors, including wealthy individuals and major companies. Trump also remarked that TikTok had increased his popularity among younger voters and contributed to his 2024 election victory.
Earlier in the week, he had again postponed enforcement of the ban, originally put in place during the presidency of Joe Biden. According to The Wall Street Journal, one option under consideration is a consortium led by Oracle and two California-based investment firms, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, to take control of TikTok’s US business.
The call also came as Washington and Beijing sought to ease tensions over tariffs. Both sides had sharply escalated duties earlier this year, disrupting supply chains, before reaching a temporary arrangement to lower rates. That deal, set to expire in November, currently leaves US imports of Chinese goods facing 30 per cent tariffs, while China imposes 10 per cent on American products.
The conversation followed a summit convened by Xi earlier this month with the leaders of Russia and India, which also included North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a guest observer at a major military parade in Beijing.