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China Calls TikTok Ownership Deal a ‘Win-Win’ as US Deadline Extension Looms
China on Wednesday praised a preliminary agreement to shift TikTok’s US operations to American ownership, calling the deal a “win-win” outcome and pledging to review related technology exports and intellectual property licensing.
The endorsement came via a commentary in People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, which emphasised that the consensus with the US was reached on the basis of “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.” The commentary was published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng” often used to convey Beijing’s official stance on foreign affairs.
The framework agreement, reached in Madrid earlier this week, would transfer control of TikTok’s American assets from China’s ByteDance to a US-based entity. The deal closely mirrors a prior arrangement that fell apart earlier this year following the Trump administration’s imposition of steep tariffs on Chinese imports.
The potential shift in TikTok’s ownership is seen by analysts and investors as a pivotal step toward stabilizing US-China relations. With 170 million users in the United States alone, TikTok has become a symbol of the broader technological and economic tensions between the two nations.
Attention now turns to a scheduled phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this Friday, during which both sides are expected to confirm the agreement.
Following talks in Madrid, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that a looming September 17 deadline originally set to restrict TikTok’s operations in the US-could be pushed back by 90 days to allow more time to finalize the deal. However, he did not provide further details on the extension.
Beijing, for its part, signaled it will carefully assess TikTok’s technology transfers and licensing arrangements “in accordance with the law,” suggesting ongoing scrutiny even as negotiations move forward.
