Overview
- President Trump said an undisclosed group of “very wealthy people” has agreed to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations and that he will identify them in about two weeks.
- He indicated the sale will likely require approval from President Xi Jinping, expressing confidence that Beijing will greenlight the transaction.
- The president has used three executive orders to delay enforcement of a 2024 law mandating ByteDance’s divestment, most recently pushing the deadline to September 17.
- ByteDance confirmed ongoing negotiations with U.S. officials but warned that key issues must be resolved and any deal would be subject to Chinese legal approval.
- Earlier efforts this spring to spin off TikTok’s U.S. arm collapsed after Beijing withdrew support over U.S. tariff announcements, underscoring the impact of broader trade tensions.