Xi Jinping and Donald Trump held what both sides described as a positive phone call on Friday but Beijing did not confirm that they reached a deal on the future of TikTok.
Trump signalled earlier this week that the call would seal an agreement on the sale of the Chinese social media app to an American consortium and he suggested after speaking to Xi on Friday that the deal had been approved.
The US president described the call as “very productive” adding that the two leaders made progress on issues including trade, the approval of the TikTok deal, their dispute over China’s export of chemicals used to produce the drug fentanyl and “the need to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end”.
The US president confirmed that he would meet Xi next month at an Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in South Korea next month and that he would visit China early next year.
RM Block
“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval and look forward to meeting at APEC,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Beijing described the call as “pragmatic, positive and constructive”, adding that the two leaders engaged in a candid and in-depth exchange of views on US-China relations and issues of common concern.
Xi said that recent consultations between the two sides had been conducted in a spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity but warned the US against adopting “unilateral trade restriction measures” that could undermine progress.
“On the TikTok issue, Xi stated that China’s position was clear: the Chinese government respects the will of the businesses, welcomes them to conduct sound commercial negotiations on the basis of market rules, and in reaching solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and achieve a balance of interests. He expressed hope that the United States would provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the US,” according to an official account of the call published by the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
The US and China this week held the latest round of negotiations over their trade relationship, including tariffs and mutual trade restrictions. Washington has limited exports of advanced semiconductors to China and Beijing has introduced an export licensing system for rare earth minerals that are essential to high-tech manufacturing.
The Trump administration has threatened to shut down TikTok in the US unless its Chinese owner ByteDance agrees to divest its American operations to comply with a national security law introduced by the Biden administration.
Mr Trump has extended the deadline for completing the deal a number of times, this week postponing it until the middle of December.
