Donald Trump and Xi Jinping set to discuss TikTok deal and US-China trade relations

US President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday to finalise an agreement that will allow the popular social media app TikTok to keep operating in the United States.

“I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok and also trade,” Trump said Thursday. “And we’re very close to deals on all of it.”

According to Trump, his relationship with China is “very good,” but he noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine could end if European countries put higher tariffs on China.

This Friday's conversation was first announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, following a US-China trade meeting earlier this week in Madrid. Bessent said the sides reached a framework deal on TikTok’s ownership, but Trump and Xi likely would finalise it on Friday.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Thursday didn’t confirm the call or any upcoming summit between the leaders, but spokesperson Liu Pengyu said, “Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations.”

Can Trump and Xi settle trade dispute?

According to US media, the phone call may also give hints about whether the two presidents will meet in person to finalise a deal to stop their trade dispute and shed light on the future of relations between the two countries.

It would be the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the two largest economies.

But Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for the social video platform that faces a US ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its controlling stake.

Four rounds of trade talks between May and September have been held between top US and Chinese officials, and there will probably be more in the upcoming weeks. Although both sides have backed off from strict export controls and suspended exorbitant tariffs, many issues remain unresolved.

In June, Trump and Xi spoke to defuse tensions over China’s restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets.

Efforts to finalise the TikTok deal

Trump, who has credited TikTok with helping him win another term, has extended a deadline several times for the app to be spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

It is a requirement to allow TikTok to keep operating in the US under a law passed last year seeking to address data privacy and national security concerns.

The US leader has said TikTok “has tremendous value” and the US “has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it.”

Concerns over ByteDance's ownership and origins have been raised by US officials, who have cited Chinese rules requiring Chinese businesses to provide data upon request. The proprietary algorithm used by TikTok to determine what viewers have been watching has been another issue.

On Monday, Chinese officials said that a consensus was reached on authorisation of the “use of intellectual property rights,” including the algorithm, and that the two sides agreed on entrusting a partner with handling US user data and content security.