Source Credit : CNBC
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping failed to come to a final agreement on TikTok during a call Friday, but the two made significant progress toward a deal, a White House official told CNBC’s Eamon Javers.
Later Friday, Trump said in the Oval Office that a TikTok deal “is well on its way, as you know, and the investors are getting ready.”
“We have to get it signed,” he said, according to a White House pool reporter, adding, “I guess it could be a formality.”
The White House official’s remarks on the much-anticipated call came after Trump and China’s state media issued dueling readouts of their conversation that left the status of a deal on the popular video app unclear.
“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Friday morning.
Trump also announced that he and Xi agreed to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s upcoming summit in South Korea.
Trump added that he agreed to “go to China in the early part of next year,” and that Xi “would, likewise, come to the United States at an appropriate time.”
“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!” he wrote.
A translated readout from Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, meanwhile, appeared to show daylight between the two sides on TikTok.
“China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear: the Chinese government respects the will of companies and is pleased to see companies conduct business negotiations on the basis of market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests,” the statement read.
“We hope the U.S. side will provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the United States.”
“The U.S. side hopes to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, will support consultations between the two teams, and properly resolve the TikTok issue,” the statement from Xinhua said.
Trump and his administration had signaled earlier in the week that a deal was all but clinched.
