02/05/2025

Trump Wants a TikTok Deal

China may pull the plug

TikTok’s Chinese owner appears to be slow-rolling negotiations for a sale while waiting for a green light from the Chinese government, even as corporate allies of President Donald Trump race to broker a deal to sell the app to an American bidder, like Elon Musk, according to three people familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private business transactions.

However, Beijing is increasingly likely to take a hard-line approach, letting TikTok’s U.S. operations die rather than approving a sale as it holds out for a "grand deal" with the Trump administration that includes larger concessions on trade and tech policy, according to one of the people and analysts.

The move comes as tension between the nations have escalated into a trade war, with Trump drawing on emergency economic powers to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from China this week. Beijing retaliated with its own set of restrictions, including limits on exports of minerals used to make high-tech products and an antitrust investigation of Google.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.