Overview
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a final political agreement to transfer TikTok to new owners is in place and will be consummated at the leaders’ meeting in South Korea.
- Bessent declined to disclose transaction specifics, saying he is not on the commercial side and that his focus was securing Chinese approval for the deal.
- China’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang described the talks as reaching a preliminary consensus, offering a more cautious characterization than U.S. officials.
- Bessent said the threat of additional higher U.S. tariffs on China is effectively off the table and cited initial understandings on curbing fentanyl precursors and on substantial Chinese agricultural purchases.
- The agreement follows a 2024 law requiring divestiture and a Trump executive order last month; prior White House outlines described a U.S.-majority venture with ByteDance below 20% and an American investor consortium including Oracle, though no new details were provided Sunday.