President Donald Trump announced on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, that Chinese President Xi Jinping had approved a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, Forbes reports. However, Trump did not provide further information about the discussions.

According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two leaders discussed TikTok during a phone call, with Xi noting that China “respects corporate decisions and welcomes business negotiations that follow market rules and produce solutions consistent with Chinese laws and balanced interests.”

The statement highlighted that China and the U.S. had agreed to provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment for investment and economic cooperation. Xi had also requested during the conversation that “unilateral trade restrictions” not be imposed by the U.S. in order to keep the ongoing consultation between the two parties productive.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that a “framework” for the deal had been agreed upon by U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators following hints by Trump on the matter earlier in the week, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. The agreement would place TikTok under U.S.-controlled ownership.

According to Forbes, a consortium of investors, including Oracle, Marc Andreessen’s venture capital firm, and Silver Lake, would reportedly hold roughly 80% of the company. The new entity’s board would mostly be made up of Americans, with the U.S. government choosing one member.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement framed the TikTok negotiations within the broader context of ongoing bilateral consultations. It noted that multiple rounds of discussion on economic and trade issues had been conducted, with consultation, mutual consideration, and structured negotiation emphasized as guiding principles.

Trump reportedly described the U.S.-China relationship as “the most important bilateral relationship,” according to the statement, and said the two countries would work together on the economy, trade, and supporting efforts to reach a proper TikTok deal.

The announcement comes after a series of extensions to the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations or be banned in the country, as required by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law in April 2024, USA Today reports.