Trump on TikTok: Xi Jinping Was Right

According to US President Donald Trump, Chinese head of state XI Jinping has agreed to a deal with the Tiktok video app. At the same time, Trump remained vague with the details and made it clear that the agreement was still being worked on. The Tikok deal is on the road and “the investors get ready,” he said in the White House. The US government had already spoken of a fundamental agreement on the future of TikTok in the United States at the beginning of the week.

At the same time, Trump – again without details – assured that the agreements would prevent China’s influence on the app. He confirmed previous information that American investors should take over Tikok’s US business. The “Wall Street Journal” practically reported at the same time that the US government would receive a payment of several billion dollars from these investors in the course of the transaction. When asked about this, Trump said that this had not yet been finally negotiated – “but we will get something”.

The TIKTOK mother Group Bytedance has its headquarters in Beijing-the future of the app in the USA has therefore been in balance for months. After a US law decided last year, it should have been sold by Bytedance until January 19, 2025 or had to leave the network in the USA. But Trump admitted an additional deadline for taking office in January, which he later extended. There was no basis for this in the law.

According to previous own information, Tiklok has more than 170 million users in the United States. On the operation of the short video app outside the United States-such as in Germany-the events should have no effect.

In the United States, bytedance – and thus also the daughter Tikkok – are seen as a Chinese company. Bytedance counters that the group has 60 percent of international investors and is based on the Cayman Islands. However, bytedance is bound to many Chinese regulations because of the headquarters in Beijing. And founders around Zhang Yiming only hold a share of 20 percent – but according to media reports, thanks to stocks with more voting rights.

As the “Wall Street Journal” reported a few days ago, US investors such as Oracle and the investment companies Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz should stick to 80 percent of a new U.S. subsidiary. The rest should be with Chinese shareholders.

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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