Trump: China talks about TikTok deal to begin next week

President Trump said he will begin negotiations with China about a potential deal regarding the popular video-sharing platform TikTok this upcoming week. 

“We pretty much have a deal. I think we are gonna start Monday or Tuesday asking, talking to China, perhaps President Xi [Jinping] or one of his representatives, but we pretty much have a deal,” Trump told reporters late Friday on Air Force One. 

The president said his administration will “probably” have to get the deal approved by China. 

“Not definitely, but probably,” he said. 

Trump signed an executive order in mid-June to extend the deadline for the social media platform to divest from the China-based parent company, ByteDance, for 90 days. The new deadline was set for Sept. 17. 

It was the third extension that Trump signed since returning to the White House in January. The order directed the Justice Department not to enforce the law or impose penalties related to the legislation. 

Former President Biden signed a law last year to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok or the platform would face a ban on networks in the U.S. 

Trump in Friday told reporters that he and Xi have a “great relationship.” 

“I think it’s good for them. I think the deal is good for China, and it’s good for us and for us, it’s money,” the president said. 

Trump said in a late June interview that he found a buyer for TikTok. 

When Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked who the buyer is, the president said, “I’ll tell you in about two weeks.”

He also added that the buyers are “very, very wealthy people.”