China has approved the long-awaited transfer agreement for the popular short video app TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday, signaling that the drawn-out negotiations over the app’s U.S. ownership may finally be nearing resolution.
“In Kuala Lumpur, we finalized the TikTok agreement in terms of getting Chinese approval, and I would expect that would go forward in the coming weeks and months, and we’ll finally see a resolution to that,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria, following President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed the approval in a statement, saying the country would “properly handle TikTok-related issues with the United States.” A ministry spokesperson added, “The Chinese side will work with the U.S. side to properly address issues related to TikTok,” suggesting Beijing is seeking a managed and cooperative approach to end one of the most contentious tech disputes between both nations.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, has not yet issued a public statement on the approval.
The decision marks a major development in a standoff that has lasted more than 18 months since the U.S. Congress passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 2025, or face a nationwide shutdown. Lawmakers cited concerns over data privacy and potential Chinese government influence on the platform’s algorithm, which serves content to more than 170 million American users.
President Trump signed an executive order on September 25 endorsing the proposed sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets to a consortium of American and international investors. The order stated that the deal met the national security conditions outlined in the 2024 law and gave the new ownership group 120 days to finalize the transaction. Trump also postponed the enforcement deadline until January 20, 2026, to allow time for technical and legal adjustments.
Under the approved agreement, ByteDance would retain less than a 20% ownership stake in TikTok’s U.S. entity, while American investors would hold a controlling interest. The new company’s board will have seven members—six Americans and one representative appointed by ByteDance—to ensure majority U.S. governance.
The executive order also stipulated that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm—long the focus of national security scrutiny—would be retrained, operated, and monitored under the supervision of U.S.-approved cybersecurity partners. Control over algorithmic decision-making will rest entirely with the newly formed U.S.-based joint venture.
While Chinese authorities have now signed off on the deal, some U.S. lawmakers remain cautious. Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China, recently expressed reservations over a potential licensing arrangement that would allow TikTok U.S. to continue using ByteDance’s algorithm. He said earlier this month that a licensing agreement for use of the TikTok algorithm, as part of the deal by ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of the short video app, would raise serious concerns.
China’s decision to approve the transfer may mark a broader thaw in U.S.-China trade and technology relations following the Trump-Xi meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The approval is also seen as a pragmatic step by Beijing, which has sought to ease tensions over Chinese tech companies facing restrictions in Western markets.
If completed, the agreement could end years of political uncertainty surrounding one of the world’s most influential social media platforms, balancing U.S. security demands with China’s need to preserve its global technology presence.
The TikTok transfer deal now awaits final procedural steps and the establishment of the new U.S. operating entity, expected to be completed within months, according to officials familiar with the matter.
