TikTok Sale Agreement Reached; US-China Tariff Talks in 'About a Month,' Officials Say
After two days of talks between U.S. and Chinese officials, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that they and Chinese counterpart Vice Premier He Lifeng have a "framework" for a deal for China's Byte Dance to divest TikTok to U.S. buyers, and that deal will be completed on Sept. 19 as Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump talk about the divestiture.
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Greer said that discussions of American tariffs, export controls and sanctions on China were "deferred to another time," as they spent most of the two days on TikTok. However, Bessent said that he did bring up what "poor timing" it was that China on Sept. 15 accused American chipmaker Nvidia of violating anti-monopoly laws.
"We’re very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese and completely respects U.S. national security concerns, and that’s definitely reached," Greer said in Madrid Sept. 15.
Bessent said he expects to hold another round of trade negotiations "in about a month."
Greer was asked about the pause on higher tariffs on both sides, which lasts through Nov. 10. He said "if the talks continue in a positive direction," the U.S. would be open to offering another pause. He added, "The United States is receiving rare earths much better than they were before. However, there's still work to be done there."
Greer said that the president offered "specific guidance" on TikTok over the phone, and said such a "challenging and prickly issue like the TikTok divestment" couldn't have been resolved without him.
"Without his leadership and the leverage he provides, we would not be able to conclude the deal today," Greer said.
According to reporters in Europe, a Chinese Commerce Ministry official agreed there was a framework.
However, Global Times, a Chinese state-run news outlet, wrote, "Regarding the TikTok issue, China has always opposed politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of technology and economic-trade matters and will never seek to reach any agreement at the expense of principles, interests of companies, or international fairness and justice," Commerce Vice Minister Li Chenggang said in Madrid.
"China will firmly safeguard the national interests, the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, and carry out technology export approval in accordance with relevant laws and regulations," the Global Times quoted Li as saying.
Trump also posted about the talks on social media on Sept. 15. "The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly. A deal was also reached on a 'certain' company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!"
Greer also was asked about how the EU-U.S. trade framework might deal with rules of origin when European producers use Chinese inputs. Greer said all trade deals will be concerned with that issue.
"We want to make sure the benefits of that agreement are between the U.S. and the EU," he said. "We want to make sure other countries aren't used as a jumping off point for trade with China, for example."