TikTok appears set to remain operational in the United States following a trade meeting between Trump administration officials and Chinese representatives.

On Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, President Donald Trump hinted at a deal in a Truth Social post, saying that trade talks had gone “VERY WELL.”

“A deal was also reached on a “certain” company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save,” Trump wrote. “They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi [Jinping] on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!”

What’s Happening With TikTok In The US?

AFROTECH™ has closely followed the ongoing TikTok saga, which began on April 24, 2024, when former President Joe Biden signed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. assets to an American company within a year or face a nationwide ban. The legislation cited national security concerns, particularly the potential for China to access the private data of an estimated 170 million American users.

TikTok briefly went dark in the U.S. on Jan. 18, but on Jan. 20 — Trump’s first day back in office — he signed an executive action delaying the ban by 75 days to give the company more time to secure a buyer, AFROTECH™ noted. He issued a 75-day extension in April, followed by a third in June — this time for 90 days — pushing the deadline to Sept. 17, 2025.

In July, Trump stated that the U.S. “pretty much has a deal” ready for an American company to acquire TikTok, The New York Times reported.

“President Trump played a role in this, we had a call with him last night, we had specific guidance from him we shared it with our Chinese counterparts,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, according to CNN. Bessent is leading the current round of U.S. trade negotiations with China while in Madrid.

He added, “Without his leadership and the leverage he provides, we would not have been able to include the deal today.”

While the Trump administration has not named the U.S.-backed buyer, per CNN, several investment groups have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt, in partnership with his nonprofit Project Liberty, previously submitted a bid to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations by transitioning American users to a domestically managed digital infrastructure.

Until now, ByteDance has been reluctant to divest its U.S. stake and remained “publicly silent” as American companies placed bids for the app, AFROTECH™ noted.

“We were very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese and completely respects US national security concerns, and that’s the deal we reached,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, CNN reported. “And of course, we want to ensure that the Chinese have a fair, invested environment in the United States, but always that US national security comes first.”

TikTok nor ByteDance have commented on the details of the deal, per the outlet.