US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold their first talks in three months on Friday, with the focus on the TikTok app and bilateral trade ties, Reuters reported. China has yet to officially confirm its participation, BTA reports.
The topic is particularly sensitive because, by a decision of Congress, TikTok was to be blocked for American users from January 2025 unless its US assets are transferred to local investors. According to people familiar with the matter, the draft agreement envisages a similar transfer, but the app will continue to use the algorithm of the Chinese company ByteDance. A detail that raises national security concerns among some US lawmakers.
The conversation is part of a series of efforts to reduce tensions between the two economies and could pave the way for a personal meeting between Trump and Xi at the APEC forum in South Korea in October.
The US is pushing for more Chinese purchases of soybeans and Boeing aircraft, as well as curbs on exports of chemicals used to produce fentanyl. At the same time, China is defending its positions in key sectors such as rare earth metals, semiconductors and high-tech manufacturing.
Since the start of his second term, Trump has significantly increased tariffs on Chinese imports, leading to retaliatory measures from Beijing. Despite partial agreements, tensions remain, and China continues to be the US's third-largest trading partner and the source of the largest bilateral deficit.
Geopolitical factors are also added to the economic disputes - tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea, while Washington is simultaneously engaged in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Shortly before the scheduled meeting, Beijing allowed a Wells Fargo employee, who had been unable to leave the country for a long time, to travel to the United States. A gesture perceived as a sign of readiness for dialogue.