US-China TikTok deal: Beijing plans to review app’s algorithm

The US administration has recently reached a framework deal on TikTok with China as Beijing calls the deal a win-win for both countries in the midst of uncertainty over the future of the app.

“We have a deal on TikTok ... We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said on Tuesday. However, further details on the framework are unknown yet.

The deal was negotiated between US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng in Madrid.

As per reported details, the short video app would get new ownership as assets would be transferred from China’s ByteDance to new US-based owners.

However, the fate of the app's technology and algorithm still hangs in balance.

According to Chinese officials, Beijing would be entitled to review TikTok's technology exports and intellectual property licensing.

The deputy head of China’s cyber security regulator said the framework related to TikTok includes “licensing the algorithm and other intellectual property rights.”

According to the official People's Daily in a commentary, “China reached a relevant consensus with the United States on the TikTok issue because it is based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, US-based investors, such as Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake are expected to hold 80 percent stake in the app, the rest will be held by Chinese shareholders.

However, the highly-awaited meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on September 19, 2025 will further confirm the concrete postulates of the framework deal.