WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a regional summit taking place at the end of October in South Korea and will visit China in the “early part of next year,” following a lengthy phone call between the two on Friday.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Xi would come to the United States “at an appropriate time” and that they had made progress on “the approval of the TikTok Deal” to allow the to keep operating in the U.S., though he didn't give details.
A statement from the Chinese government did not mention the visits, nor did it offer clarity on what Xi had agreed to regarding a by TikTok’s Chinese parent company to avoid . But Xi told Trump to avoid imposing trade restrictions to keep trade ties from getting worse, according to the statement.
While the highly anticipated call suggested a cordial relationship between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, their statements showed the challenges facing two countries with conflicting worldviews that are so entwined. A fundamental sign of cooperation was a willingness to meet face to face.
“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!” Trump wrote, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group of 21 economies on the Pacific Rim.
Later Friday, Trump said American investors were lined up on TikTok and described Xi as “a gentleman” in the negotiations. But Trump was vague on the ownership of TikTok's algorithm, a critical technology that populates what users see on the app and is subject to Beijing's export restrictions.
“It’s all being worked out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying the call with Xi lasted nearly two hours. “We’re going to have very good control.”
Efforts to finalize the TikTok deal
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, thanked both leaders in a statement and expressed interest in ongoing negotiations to ensure the app's services continue for U.S. users, without providing much insight into how the ownership question would be resolved. Trump said the deal was “well on its way.”
The Trump administration said this week that a for the app's ownership was reached with Chinese officials during trade talks in Madrid.
Trump, who has credited the app with helping him win another term, several times has for it to be spun off from ByteDance. It is a requirement under a law passed last year seeking to address data privacy and .
U.S. officials have been concerned about ByteDance’s roots and ownership, pointing to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government.
Chinese officials said Monday that on authorization of the “use of intellectual property rights,” including the algorithm, and that the two sides agreed on entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security.
During the call, Xi told Trump that Beijing ”would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules," which would "lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides,” according to the Chinese statement.
“The U.S. side needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors,” it said.
Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, said there does not appear to be a done deal over TikTok.
“Beijing frames market-based talks under Chinese law, keeping a de facto veto, while Trump casts himself as the final approver," he said.
Trump and Xi speak on wider trade issues
Trump said in Friday's social media post that the two also made progress on “many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end.”
A day earlier, Trump said could end if European countries put higher tariffs on China. Trump didn’t say if he planned to raise , as he has done with India.
U.S. and Chinese officials have held four between May and September, with another likely in the coming weeks. Both sides have and pulled back from harsh export controls.
They are yet to reach any deal, however, on tech export restrictions, Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products or fentanyl. The Trump administration has imposed additional 20% tariffs on Chinese goods linked to allegations that Beijing has failed to stem the flow to the U.S. of the chemicals used to make opioids.
China responded by levying additional 10% to 15% tariffs on U.S. farm goods.
Trump’s second-term trade war with Beijing has cost U.S. farmers . From January through July, American farm exports to China fell 53% compared with the same period last year. The damage was even greater in some commodities: U.S. sorghum sales to China, for instance, were down 97%.
Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said if there is an agreement to remove the fentanyl tariffs, Beijing could roll back the retaliatory tariffs and resume purchases of U.S. farm goods and other products, he said.
“There’ll be a lot of positive market sentiment that comes from this, and it will alleviate the human costs of fentanyl,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Christopher Megerian and Paul Wiseman contributed to the report.
