The United States is nearing a deal with China to resolve their dispute over TikTok, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, as both sides resumed high-stakes trade talks in Madrid.
Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, aimed at bridging differences over trade and technology that have strained relations between the world’s two largest economies. The talks are scheduled to continue through Wednesday, the deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban.
“On the TikTok deal itself, we’re very close to resolving the issue,” Bessent told reporters outside Spain’s foreign ministry. “If we don’t reach an agreement on TikTok, it doesn’t affect the overall relationship between the two countries. It’s still very good at the highest levels.”
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has been under pressure from Washington over national security concerns. A federal law mandating the app’s sale or ban was originally set to take effect before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, but the former president paused the enforcement and later granted a 90-day extension, which expires Wednesday.
Although Trump initially supported a ban, he reversed course during the 2024 campaign, claiming the platform boosted his appeal among younger voters. TikTok currently boasts nearly two billion users worldwide.
The Madrid talks also cover Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Earlier this year, tit-for-tat duties spiraled into triple digits, disrupting supply chains. Both governments later agreed to a temporary truce, reducing tariffs to 30 percent on US goods and 10 percent on Chinese exports, but that arrangement is set to expire in November.
