Pareesa Afreen 
Sep 20, 2025
US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had made progress on a deal over TikTok’s future in the United States.
The two leaders experienced their first phone conversation since June and voiced an intention to meet in South Korea just before the end of October to engage in several discussions.
According to Reuters, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, "He approved the TikTok deal", while acknowledging that a formal signing could still take place.
He said the agreement was “well on its way" and expressed optimism on larger topics, including trade talks and China's involvement in alleviating the fentanyl crisis.
The leaders' call lasted nearly two hours and coincided with heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, which had been high despite several rounds of trade talks.
Reuters had previously reported that a meeting between Trump and Xi was in the works, and Trump has now confirmed plans to go to China early next year, with Xi expected to go to the US at some point.
Congress ordered TikTok to be shut down for US users by January 2025 unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells its US assets. The Biden and Trump administrations have pressured ByteDance over national security concerns in the past.
However, Beijing’s statement was more cautious, making no mention of a final TikTok agreement. “China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question,” China said, calling for non-discriminatory treatment of its firms.
