Trump and Xi’s Friday Call Fails to Seal TikTok Deal—What’s Next for the Tech Giant?
High-stakes diplomacy hits a wall as Trump and Xi's much-anticipated call ends without a TikTok resolution. The two leaders connected Friday but left key questions unanswered—no final agreement, no clear path forward.
Geopolitical Tech Standoff
Washington and Beijing remain locked in a digital cold war over data sovereignty. TikTok's fate dangles between U.S. security concerns and China's tech ambitions. The absence of a deal signals more turbulence ahead for the social media powerhouse.
Market Reactions Roll In
Investors brace for extended uncertainty—because nothing says 'stable investment' like a geopolitical tug-of-war wrapped in algorithm drama. The delay fuels speculation about alternative outcomes: forced divestiture, operational restrictions, or even a full ban.
Next moves? Watch for backchannel negotiations and regulatory chess matches. When leaders talk but don't decide, the real action happens in the shadows.
Xi avoids deal confirmation, White House leans on optimism
Trump, never one to hold back, said on Tuesday, three days before the call, that a deal on TikTok was already done. “We have a deal on TikTok,” he told reporters, calling the upcoming call with Xi just a chance to “confirm everything up.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added to that Optimism earlier in the week, saying both teams had already built a “framework” for the deal.
That framework is supposed to address a federal law that requires TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell the app’s U.S. business or get kicked out of the country. The law was signed by Joe Biden back in April 2024 and gave ByteDance until January 19 to figure it out.
But once Trump got back into the WHITE House in January 2025, he immediately pushed that deadline back. And he didn’t stop there. He’s signed three more extensions since then. The latest one came last Tuesday, giving ByteDance until December 16.
TikTok still stuck in limbo while Trump pushes delay after delay
While in the U.K. on Thursday, Trump told reporters at Chequers, the British prime minister’s countryside home, “We’re speaking to President Xi on Friday to see if we can finalize something on TikTok because there is tremendous value, and I hate to give away value, but I like TikTok.”
ByteDance is still sitting in the middle of all this with no clear answer. The company has been under pressure for months to spin off its U.S. operations or leave the market.
Lawmakers in both parties have backed the legislation, saying the app could be used by foreign enemies to spy on Americans or push influence campaigns.
Trump, on the other hand, has defended the app repeatedly. He credited TikTok with helping him win the 2024 election and has shown no urgency to shut it down. Instead, he’s repeatedly delayed the law’s enforcement while saying talks with China are moving forward.
For now, though, there’s still no deal.
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