President Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline to keep TikTok operational in the United States, pushing it back to December 16 to allow time for finalizing a framework deal reached with China.
The executive order, signed on Tuesday, marked the fourth time Trump has bypassed federal law to prolong the deadline for TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban. Congress had initially set the deadline for January 19 this year, one day before Trump began his second presidential term.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he would discuss the framework with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. He also noted that several companies are interested in acquiring TikTok’s U.S. operations, with details expected to be revealed soon. “I hate to see value like that thrown out the window,” Trump remarked before leaving the White House for a state visit to the United Kingdom with First Lady Melania Trump.
The framework deal emerged after high-level talks in Madrid between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Bessent said the goal was to transfer TikTok’s American operations to U.S. ownership but declined to elaborate on the details.
China’s international trade representative Li Chenggang told reporters that both sides had reached a “basic framework consensus” to resolve TikTok-related issues, reduce investment barriers and expand trade cooperation.
Trump has warmed to the idea of keeping TikTok alive, believing it helped him appeal to younger voters in the 2024 election. However, U.S. lawmakers remain concerned about the app’s potential security risks stemming from its data collection practices.
Analysts caution that the prolonged negotiations may ultimately have limited impact. “The U.S.–China deal on TikTok may look like a breakthrough, but it risks being a Pyrrhic victory,” said Dimitar Gueorguiev, a political science professor at Syracuse University. He noted that TikTok’s once-vaunted algorithm has lost much of its mystique as rivals replicate its features. “Any U.S. buyer is therefore purchasing market share and user base, not transformative technology.”