U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that China has approved the TikTok transfer agreement. Further progress is expected in the dispute over the app in the coming weeks and months. Bessent told the Fox Business Channel after President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea: "We have completed China's approval of the TikTok agreement. I predict that the agreement will proceed smoothly and we will eventually have a resolution to this dispute."
China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that it will properly handle TikTok-related issues with the United States.
In April 2024, the "Protecting Americans from Hostile Foreign Control Applications Act" was signed into law by then-President Biden, which determined that TikTok was controlled by China and other foreign hostile forces and endangered U.S. national security. The bill requires TikTok to sell its U.S. business before January 20, 2025, otherwise it will be banned in the United States.
After taking office as president, Trump signed an executive order to postpone the TikTok ban for 75 days to April 5. It was subsequently extended twice, pushing the deadline to June 19 in total, and was extended again for 90 days in June, giving TikTok more time to seek U.S. buyers.
In September 2025, Trump signed an executive order approving a consortium composed of American and global investors to take over TikTok's U.S. business and giving him 120 days to complete the transaction. He also suspended the ban until January 20, 2025, so that a new shareholding structure can be finalized.
According to the current plan, ByteDance will only hold less than 20% of TikTok's US business and will occupy one seat on the new board of directors, with the other six seats held by Americans. U.S.-led investment groups including Oracle, private equity fund Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX Group are expected to hold about 45-50% of the shares.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that support for the TikTok ban has dropped to about one-third of Americans, down from about 50% in March 2023. 43% of adults under the age of 30 in the United States say they often get news from TikTok, which is higher than other social media platforms.