Trump, Xi Speak After Three-Month Gap as Trade and TikTok Talks Intensify.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first phone call in three months on Friday, with trade tensions and the fate of TikTok dominating discussions. Trump said ahead of the conversation that he was “very close to deals” on both issues. The White House later confirmed that the leaders discussed tariffs, market access, and ongoing negotiations to keep TikTok operational in the United States.
The call comes as Washington continues to press Beijing for concessions on trade while demanding that TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, divest its US operations or comply with strict data rules. Under a law passed last year, the app faces a shutdown in the US by January 2025 unless a deal is finalised. The deadline has already been extended to mid-December.
TikTok’s future remains at the centre of US–China tensions, with concerns over data security and content manipulation. Trump, however, has defended the app’s popularity, calling it a platform of “tremendous value” that the US can leverage in negotiations.
Trade was the other major theme, with Trump reiterating his stance on tariffs aimed at rebalancing economic ties. Since taking office in January, he has raised duties on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, prompting retaliation from Beijing. While a “tariff truce” in August paused further hikes, disputes over agricultural imports, high-tech exports, and fentanyl precursor chemicals remain unresolved.
The conversation is also viewed as preparation for a possible face-to-face meeting at the APEC summit in South Korea next month, though Beijing has not confirmed Xi’s attendance. Chinese officials described high-level dialogue as “irreplaceable” in guiding bilateral relations.
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