ROX• TV | Trump-Xi phone call and a possible TikTok sale

President Donald Trump said at the conclusion of a call with China’s leader Xi Jinping Friday morning that they had made progress to finalize a deal that would sell most of TikTok’s US assets to American investors. The deal would conclude a yearslong effort that began during Trump’s first term and became a key factor in broader negotiations between the United States and China in recent months.
“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 said in a post on Truth Social. “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”

Xinhua, a Chinese state media service, reported that Xi told Trump “the Chinese government respects corporate decisions and welcomes business negotiations that follow market rules and produce solutions consistent with Chinese laws and balanced interests.”

CNN has asked the White House whether a TikTok deal has been approved.

“We thank President Xi Jinping and President Donald J. Trump for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States,” a ByteDance spokesperson said in a statement following the call. “ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Li Chenggang, China’s vice minister of commerce, said that a framework TikTok sale agreement had been reached during negotiations held in Madrid between diplomats from both countries. The proposal would allow TikTok to remain operational in the United States. Former President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill passed by Congress that went into effect on January 19 banning TikTok unless it ceded control of at least 80% of its assets to US operators. But Trump multiple times paused the ban as his administration sought a sale via a deal with China.

Neither side has disclosed terms of the agreement. But sources familiar with the framework said the proposal would involve investments from a number of US-based venture capital firms, private equity funds and tech companies. Among the investors, who would hold the majority stake in the company, are Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake, the sources said. Chinese investors would own the remaining 20% of the company.