Table of Contents
- Uncertain Future for TikTok in the U.S.
- Bessent Claims Progress—But Timeline Slips
- China Remains Silent on Ownership Shift
- Legal and Political Backdrop
- What Happens Next?
- Sources
Uncertain Future for TikTok in the U.S.
Despite high hopes and weeks of optimistic signals from the Trump administration, the fate of TikTok in the United States remains unresolved following the October 30, 2025, meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Neither leader made any definitive announcement about the social media giant, whose U.S. operations have been under threat due to national security concerns tied to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Bessent Claims Progress—But Timeline Slips
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously suggested that a deal was nearly finalized. Speaking on Sunday, October 26, he claimed that during negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, both sides had agreed on terms that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. under new ownership.
“We finalized the TikTok agreement in terms of getting Chinese approval,” Bessent said in a Thursday television interview. However, he notably pushed back the expected resolution timeline from “weeks” to “months.”
China Remains Silent on Ownership Shift
China’s Ministry of Commerce issued only a vague statement after the Trump-Xi summit, noting that the two nations planned “to properly resolve issues” related to TikTok and ByteDance—but offered no specifics on structure, ownership, or timing.
President Trump himself did not mention TikTok in his post-meeting remarks, a stark contrast to earlier administration messaging that portrayed the deal as imminent.
Legal and Political Backdrop
The pressure to act stems from a law passed by Congress last year requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. The law, upheld by the Supreme Court, took effect in January 2025.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have long expressed concerns that TikTok could be exploited by the Chinese government for surveillance or propaganda. The current Trump administration has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the ban while negotiations continue—testing the limits of executive authority.
An executive order issued in September gave negotiators until mid-January 2026 to finalize a deal. Without Chinese government approval, however, any transaction remains in limbo.
What Happens Next?
With Bessent now suggesting the deal could take months to conclude, uncertainty looms for TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users and its thousands of content creators who rely on the platform for income and visibility.
Key unanswered questions include:
- Who will ultimately own TikTok’s U.S. operations?
- Will Beijing approve the proposed structure?
- Will Congress accept any deal that doesn’t fully sever ties with ByteDance?
Until those questions are resolved, TikTok’s American future remains in a state of diplomatic and legal suspense.
Sources
The New York Times: Little Word of a TikTok Deal Out of Trump-Xi Meeting
