China trade talks could include TikTok, Lutnick says

US President Donald Trump’s administration will allow TikTok to remain in the US “if it’s in American control, and … China can have a little piece or ByteDance, the current owner, can keep a little piece”, Lutnick said, speaking on CNBC.

“Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm. That’s something Donald Trump is willing to do. If that deal gets approved then by the Chinese, then that deal will happen,” he said. “If they don’t approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark, and those decisions are coming very soon.”

Asked whether an agreement over TikTok is part of current trade negotiations, Lutnick said “yes and no”.

“It’s not really part of the trade talks, but you can’t really go meet somebody and not bring up the topics that are relevant,” he said. “So … it’s not officially part of it, but unofficially? Of course.”

ByteDance is under pressure to divest the short-video app by September 17 or face a ban in the US. Last year, then-US President Joe Biden signed a sale-or-ban law, requiring that a “foreign adversary” no longer control the app, defined as a 20 per cent stake, over national security concerns. Despite an original January deadline, Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the law.

The original deadline as set in law was January 19, with allowance for a one-time 90-day extension if progress towards a sale was evident. Trump had extended that deadline his first day in office via executive order, days after a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which TikTok was discussed. He has since extended it twice more.