US President Donald Trump held a call with China’s Xi Jinping on Friday as both sides moved closer to a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the US, the Chinese Embassy in the United States confirmed in a post on X.
The conversation is being seen as a possible prelude to a face-to-face meeting, which could help end the trade war and reset relations between the world’s two largest economies.
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A fresh attempt to ease trade tensions
This is the second time Trump has spoken to Xi since returning to the White House. He reinstated steep tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this year, prompting tit-for-tat restrictions from Beijing. Despite this, Trump has indicated he is willing to negotiate, especially when it comes to TikTok. The app faces a looming ban in the US unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, gives up its controlling stake.
The two leaders last spoke in June to defuse tensions over China’s curbs on exports of rare earth minerals – materials essential for smartphones and fighter jets.
“I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok and also trade,” Trump said on Thursday. “And we’re very close to deals on all of it.”
He added that his relationship with Xi is “very good”, but suggested the Ukraine war could be ended if European nations raised tariffs on China. He did not say whether the US would impose new tariffs in response to Beijing’s purchases of Russian oil, a step already taken against India.
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Beijing highlights role of leaders
While there has been no confirmation of a summit, the Chinese Embassy in Washington emphasised the importance of direct diplomacy. Spokesperson Liu Pengyu said: “Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations.”
Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre in Washington, said both sides are keen for a leaders’ summit: “Both sides have strong desire for the leadership summit to happen, while the details lie in the trade deal and what can be achieved for both sides from the summit.”
Progress on TikTok deal
Friday’s call followed trade talks in Madrid earlier this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said negotiators had reached a framework on TikTok’s ownership, with Trump and Xi expected to finalise it themselves.
Trump has already extended the deadline for TikTok’s restructuring several times, insisting the app must be spun off from ByteDance to remain in the US. A law passed last year requires the move, citing national security and data privacy concerns. “TikTok has tremendous value and the US has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it,” Trump said.
US officials remain worried about ByteDance’s obligations under Chinese law, which compels companies to hand over data if requested by authorities. The app’s recommendation algorithm has been another sticking point.
Beijing said earlier this week that agreement had been reached on the “use of intellectual property rights”, including the algorithm, and that both sides had accepted a plan to entrust a partner with managing American user data and ensuring content security.
