Bessent: Final TikTok Deal Reached, Trump and Xi to Seal Agreement in Korea

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Sunday that the long-awaited TikTok agreement has been finalized, clearing the way for President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to formally conclude the deal during their upcoming summit in South Korea.

“We reached a final deal on TikTok, we reached one in Madrid,” Bessent said on Face the Nation. “I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”

The news caps off years of tension over the China-owned social media platform, whose parent company ByteDance has faced bipartisan scrutiny in the U.S. for potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the risk of espionage via user data and algorithm manipulation.

Trump’s Tough Stand Pays Off

While the Biden administration signed legislation in 2024 aimed at forcing ByteDance to sell or face a ban, it was President Trump who took decisive executive action. Upon taking office in January, Trump paused Biden’s enforcement deadline and launched direct negotiations with Beijing. In September, he extended the enforcement pause once more, citing progress toward a safer, America-first resolution.

The result: a framework that reclaims control of TikTok from foreign adversaries and places it firmly under American oversight.

“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said when signing his executive order. “I have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China.”

What’s in the Deal

While Bessent declined to reveal the full structure, the executive order outlines the key national security wins:

• Complete divestiture of foreign control: The TikTok app and affiliated products will no longer be under the “control” of any entity tied to a foreign adversary.

• No operational backdoors: The new joint venture structure prohibits any ongoing operational ties between ByteDance and the restructured American company.

• Data sovereignty: All U.S. user data will be stored in a cloud system operated by a U.S. firm, preventing future backdoor access by Beijing or affiliated actors.

Though the issue of the algorithm — the proprietary engine behind TikTok’s content delivery — remains somewhat murky, officials say the U.S. side will have full operational authority, with all core infrastructure based on American soil.

Diplomatic and Political Victory

Trump’s announcement comes as he prepares to meet with Xi in Korea — a summit that now holds symbolic weight as both a diplomatic reset and an economic victory lap. The deal reflects Trump’s broader posture: negotiating from strength, keeping dialogue open, and securing wins for U.S. sovereignty and security without escalating into conflict.

While Democrats failed to finalize a divestment plan during the Biden years, the Trump administration’s steady hand and strategic patience have delivered results.

And for millions of American users — especially young voters — the resolution means they can continue using the platform without wondering if their data is feeding the Chinese Communist Party.

What Comes Next

The Trump-Xi summit is expected to serve as the final handshake moment, giving the deal global attention and reaffirming a new chapter in U.S.–China digital policy.

With TikTok now poised to operate as a fully American-run platform, the Trump administration is signaling to Silicon Valley and the world that the era of foreign tech infiltration is over — and American leadership in the digital age is back.