“China will review matters related to TikTok’s technology exports and intellectual property licensing in accordance with the law,” a Chinese commentary added

China on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) called the framework deal reached in Madrid to switch short-video app TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership a “win-win” and said it would review TikTok’s technology exports and intellectual property licensing, in a state media editorial.

Investors on both sides of the Pacific are now waiting for a call scheduled for Friday (September 19, 2025) between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in which the agreement should be confirmed.

Progress over the popular social media app – which counts 170 million U.S. users – is seen as key to facilitating further talks in the coming months as the world’s two largest economies chart a path beyond their current tariff truce.

Reuters has reported that the deal, transferring TikTok’s U.S. assets to U.S. owners from China’s Bytedance, is similar to an agreement worked out earlier this year, but which was shelved after Mr. Trump announced steep tariffs on Chinese goods.

“China reached the relevant consensus with the United States on the TikTok issue because it is based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” the official People’s Daily said in a commentary.

The article was signed “Zhong Sheng” or “Voice of China”, a term the paper of the governing Communist Party uses to express views on foreign policy.

“China will review matters related to TikTok’s technology exports and intellectual property licensing in accordance with the law,” the commentary added.

After meeting with Chinese negotiators in Madrid earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a September 17 deadline that could have disrupted the app in the U.S. could be extended by 90 days to allow the deal to be finalised, without giving any further details.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (September 16, 2025) that the U.S. and China have a deal that will keep the short-video app TikTok operating in the United States, transferring its U.S. assets to U.S. owners from China’s ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year.

A deal on the popular social media app, which counts 170 million U.S. users, stands as a breakthrough in months-long talks between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies that have sought to defuse a wide-ranging trade war that has unnerved global markets.

Mr. Trump did not announce specifics of the deal. Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 during the Biden Administration that required divestiture due to fears that TikTok’s U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.

The Trump administration has repeatedly declined to enforce a law requiring the app to shut down due to worries it would anger the app’s millions of users and disrupt political communications, instead extending the divestiture deadline on three separate occasions. Mr. Trump has credited the app with helping him win re-election last year, and his personal account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account last month.

CNBC reported on Tuesday that the deal is expected to be closed within the next 30 to 45 days, and that the agreement will include existing investors in TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance and new investors. Reuters has not independently verified that report.

A deal had been in the works in the spring. It would have spun off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors, but was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.