US and China Reach Final Deal on TikTok Sale, Treasury Secretary Confirms Major Breakthrough
The United States and China have finalized a long-awaited agreement transferring ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a group of American investors, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The deal, which marks a major breakthrough in years of negotiations and political tension, is expected to be formally signed later this week.
“We reached a final deal on TikTok,” Bessent announced Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. Referring to recent high-level talks, he added, “We reached the deal in Madrid, and as of today, all the details are ironed out. It will be up to President Trump and President Xi to finalize that transaction during their meeting in Korea this Thursday.”
Although Bessent declined to reveal specific terms of the deal, he described it as part of a broader trade framework that will be discussed when President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet later this week. The agreement is expected to address long-standing trade imbalances, agricultural exports, and issues related to technology transfer.
Bessent emphasized that his role was limited to ensuring Chinese approval of the transaction. “I’m not involved in the commercial side of the deal,” he said. “My responsibility was to get the Chinese to agree to the transaction, and we achieved that over the past two days.”
The announcement follows Trump’s September 25 executive order, which cleared the path for TikTok’s U.S. division to be sold to an American-led consortium. The new ownership group will reportedly include Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison, both of whom have expressed interest in taking a majority stake.
The deal, valued at an estimated $14 billion, will give U.S. and international investors approximately 65% ownership, while ByteDance and other Chinese stakeholders will retain less than 20%. Under the agreement, the app’s core algorithm will be controlled entirely by the new U.S.-based board of directors, with six of seven seats assigned to American investors.
Trump’s former social media producer Jack Advent recently suggested that Barron Trump, the president’s 19-year-old son, might be considered for a future board position though no official confirmation has been made.
The deal caps years of political and legal wrangling surrounding TikTok’s presence in the United States. During his first presidency in 2020, Trump threatened to ban TikTok, citing national security concerns and China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2024, Congress passed a law banning the app, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden, but the measure was repeatedly postponed after Trump returned to office in January 2025 to give time for a negotiated sale.
The final agreement represents a significant political and economic win for both nations. For the U.S., it addresses national security concerns surrounding data privacy and foreign ownership. For China, it secures a continued minority investment in one of the world’s most influential digital platforms.
Trump is currently on a five-day tour of Southeast Asia, where he will attend the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia before traveling to Seoul for Thursday’s meeting with Xi. The leaders are also expected to discuss soybean and agricultural imports, trade balances, and the fentanyl crisis issues that have shaped U.S.-China relations over the past year.
Trump has maintained that his administration’s 20% tariffs on Chinese imports are necessary to pressure Beijing into addressing illicit fentanyl production and restoring trade fairness.
The Treasury Department hailed the TikTok agreement as a step toward a “new era of balanced digital trade” between the world’s two largest economies. Though details remain confidential, officials say the accord is designed to ensure that TikTok’s American operations remain fully governed under U.S. law and oversight.
If signed this week, the deal could mark the most significant technology transfer arrangement ever negotiated between Washington and Beijing and a rare moment of cooperation amid ongoing geopolitical rivalry.
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