The United States and China are inching forward to close a highly-anticipated agreement on TikTok in the second day of talks that are resumed in Madrid.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, both countries are edging closer to the TikTok deal. In the case of failure, it would not affect relations between two countries.
Bessent along with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, “"It's still very good at the highest levels. Ambassador Greer and myself have great respect for all counterparts."
The latest round of talks, which is the fourth one in 4 months, is happening at the baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz in Spain. The first day of talk between the representatives ended without any significant progress.
"Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask. We will see if we can get there at present. We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app," Bessent added.
In addition to this, further talks on tariff and economy have also taken place.
According to officials, the TikTok divestment deadline could be extended but it depends on how talks would go. Moreover, the deal could be hinged on reaching agreements on other issues.
The negotiations between the delegates last time occurred in July . In the talks, both countries agreed to extend the deadline for 90 days followed by a trade truce that not only watered down retaliatory tariffs but also resumed rare-earth exports from China to the US.
According to experts, there are minimal chances of success in reaching a deal on TikTok between two countries.
"I am not expecting anything substantive between the United States and China unless and until there is a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Xi," said William Reinsch, a senior trade adviser at Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Unfortunately, the tensions have beefed up in recent days as China launched two investigations into the US semiconductor industry followed by anti-discrimination investigation into US actions against China chip industry.
However, despite these tensions, it remains to be seen how both superpowers will tackle the issue of TikTok divestment.