President Donald Trump said Friday he made progress with Chinese President Xi Jinping on several issues, including the future of TikTok, following a telephone call between the two leaders.
The discussion marked their second direct conversation since Trump returned to the White House. The president, who once campaigned on sharp criticism of Beijing, has recently sought to ease tensions with China.
Trump told reporters he had hoped the call would finalize a deal to shift TikTok’s U.S. operations out of Chinese ownership. While no agreement was reached, he described the talks as “very productive.”
“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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He added that he will meet Xi in South Korea during next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and plans to visit China in 2026. Xi, he said, would also make a trip to the United States at an unspecified date.
China offered a more guarded assessment. State broadcaster CCTV said Xi stressed that any TikTok deal must follow “market rules” and comply with Chinese law. Beijing urged Washington to provide a “fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment” for Chinese companies operating in the U.S.
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has faced U.S. scrutiny over national security concerns. A law passed under President Joe Biden requires ByteDance to divest its U.S. business or face a nationwide ban. Lawmakers have warned that China could exploit the app to access American user data or shape online discourse.
Trump, who has credited TikTok with boosting his 2024 campaign outreach, has repeatedly delayed a ban. He said Thursday that under a new arrangement, TikTok’s U.S. operations would be controlled by American investors, including “very rich people and companies.” The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle and investment firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz may be part of a potential consortium.
The call also touched on trade. Earlier this year, Washington and Beijing raised tariffs during a dispute that rattled global supply chains, before agreeing to a temporary reduction. That truce expires in November, when U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are set at 30 percent and China’s duties on U.S. products at 10 percent.
The talks followed Xi’s recent summit with leaders of Russia and India, and Beijing’s invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to attend a World War II commemoration. Trump has accused China and Russia of working against U.S. interests, while China’s readout emphasized Xi’s recognition of the American role in the war.
