Beijing Says It Will Work With Washington on TikTok, but the Fine Print Suggests a Bigger Trade Story Unfolding

Beijing has said it will work with Washington to resolve outstanding issues around TikTok’s U.S. operations, linking the platform’s uncertain fate to the outcome of fresh trade consultations held this week in Kuala Lumpur.

The statement, published Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce, followed remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who claimed that China had approved a transfer deal allowing TikTok’s American business to proceed under new ownership. Former President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had met days earlier in Busan, South Korea, where the matter reportedly featured in their discussions.

Yet Beijing’s tone was pointedly restrained. The ministry made no mention of a completed agreement, no details of ownership, and no timetable. Instead, it referenced a broader “consensus” reached through economic and trade consultations that included a pledge to “properly resolve TikTok-related issues with the United States.”

That single phrase, placed deep in a list of technical trade outcomes, now carries the weight of global speculation.

Inside the Kuala Lumpur talks

The consultations, held between senior U.S. and Chinese economic teams, appear to have served as a follow-up to the Busan meeting between the two heads of state. The Ministry of Commerce’s transcript outlined a long list of results: Washington will cancel a 10 percent tariff and suspend additional 24 percent duties on Chinese goods for one year; both sides agreed to pause new export control rules and Section 301 investigations; and China will make reciprocal adjustments to its countermeasures.

Beyond the tariff language, the two governments also reached a rare point of agreement on cooperation to combat fentanyl trafficking, expand agricultural trade, and handle specific disputes involving individual companies. Only at the end of this dense summary did the ministry note, almost in passing, that China “will properly resolve TikTok-related issues with the United States.”

The omission of specifics was deliberate. China’s bureaucracy tends to communicate progress in understated terms — especially when political sensitivities are involved. By framing TikTok within the larger context of trade diplomacy, Beijing placed the app’s fate alongside tariffs, export rules, and drug enforcement, signaling that it views the issue as an economic matter, not a national concession.

A diplomatic balancing act

That tone reflects China’s cautious approach. Over the past year, Beijing has resisted external pressure to approve any deal that could be interpreted as forced divestment. The decision to fold TikTok into a broader package of reciprocal actions allows the government to present it domestically as part of a balanced arrangement — cooperation without capitulation.

“The results of the economic and trade consultations have been hard-won,” the ministry wrote, adding that both sides had “upheld the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity.” This language, though routine in Chinese diplomacy, signals a clear message: Beijing wants to show parity with Washington, not compliance.

U.S. officials, meanwhile, have leaned toward a more conclusive interpretation. Secretary Bessent told reporters that China had approved the transfer, framing it as confirmation that years of negotiation had yielded a result. Reports from Reuters and CNBC echoed this optimism, while Beijing’s own coverage maintained a tone of careful procedural continuity.

That divergence underscores how differently both capitals read the same statement.

TikTok as leverage in a wider thaw

The inclusion of TikTok in the Kuala Lumpur outcomes reflects how the app has evolved from a regulatory headache into a diplomatic bargaining chip. For China, it represents a test of how much sovereignty it can retain over a globally dominant platform without alienating trade partners. For the United States, it has become shorthand for broader anxieties about data control, national security, and digital dependence.

The tariff and export control concessions provide the frame for this recalibration. Washington’s decision to suspend its “50 percent penetration rule” for export controls — a policy that would have tightened scrutiny on Chinese semiconductor-related exports — offered Beijing a tangible win. In return, China agreed to freeze its own countermeasures. Within that context, progress on TikTok could be seen as part of a mutual pause — a cooling-off period designed to stabilize a relationship that had been sliding into confrontation.

For both governments, the deal’s framing carries symbolic weight. The U.S. can claim it achieved safeguards over an app viewed as a national security risk. China can argue it resolved a foreign dispute while protecting its companies’ commercial interests. In this sense, TikTok has become a proxy for the entire negotiation dynamic: each side signaling resolve while quietly seeking room to compromise.

Reading Beijing’s linguistic cues

To parse China’s position, attention must turn to language. The phrase “properly resolve” appears frequently in Chinese diplomatic communication. It signals intention without binding commitment. It’s a phrase used to keep a channel open — to say the issue will be handled, but on China’s terms and timeline.

That subtlety matters. Beijing’s refusal to confirm a concrete deal suggests that approval of TikTok’s transfer remains contingent on further steps, possibly involving licensing through the Ministry of Commerce or review by the Cyberspace Administration of China. Such internal approvals can take weeks or months, even when the political direction is clear.

Moreover, “properly resolve” implies the process will consider domestic legal requirements, not just bilateral expectations. Beijing has previously cited its technology export control regulations — particularly those covering recommendation algorithms — as requiring government authorization before any overseas transfer of intellectual property. That technical clause has provided China with both leverage and cover throughout the negotiations.

A pattern of strategic vagueness

The playbook is familiar. Chinese ministries often release statements that appear modest but carry layered meaning. During past trade disputes, Beijing has used this form of calibrated ambiguity to manage both international signaling and domestic sentiment.

By emphasizing reciprocity and procedural fairness, the ministry’s statement projects steadiness. It avoids the optics of yielding under U.S. pressure while still acknowledging a willingness to cooperate. It also aligns with China’s broader narrative that dialogue — not confrontation — is the proper channel for resolving friction with the United States.

In practice, such phrasing allows Beijing to keep the TikTok issue fluid. It can delay formal approval without rejecting it, wait to see how Washington implements its tariff suspension, and adjust depending on the political mood ahead of U.S. elections.

The broader economic setting

The Kuala Lumpur talks mark the most substantial thaw in U.S.-China trade relations since the height of tariff escalation in 2019. Both economies have strong incentives to cool tensions: China is facing a slow recovery and declining foreign investment inflows, while the United States is managing inflation pressures and election-year sensitivities.

By sequencing tariff relief, export pauses, and selective cooperation, both sides are effectively buying time. Beijing gains breathing space for its manufacturing sectors and a signal to investors that external pressure may ease. Washington gains a temporary reduction in supply chain stress and a headline-friendly outcome in an otherwise tense relationship.

Placing TikTok within this framework positions the app less as a political flashpoint and more as a trade variable. It shows that digital platforms — once treated as stand-alone policy problems — are now embedded within the machinery of global economic bargaining.

Strategic ambiguity as policy

The ministry’s careful language also reveals a deeper reality: Beijing views ambiguity as a diplomatic tool. In situations where domestic audiences expect firmness and foreign partners expect flexibility, ambiguity becomes the mechanism for managing both.

TikTok’s case illustrates this perfectly. By neither confirming nor denying approval, Beijing maintains leverage. If U.S. policy hardens, it can stall or reverse the process. If cooperation deepens, it can formalize the deal at a moment of its choosing. This approach mirrors China’s handling of other contentious issues, from rare earth exports to semiconductor licensing.

To outside observers, such tactics can appear opaque or evasive. To Chinese policymakers, they represent prudence — a way to sustain negotiation momentum without forfeiting control.

What happens next

Even if China eventually formalizes the transfer, the process is unlikely to resolve all underlying tensions. TikTok’s algorithmic architecture, user data storage, and governance model will remain points of scrutiny for U.S. regulators. Meanwhile, Beijing will continue to frame the platform as a private company subject to Chinese law, not a political instrument.

The Kuala Lumpur consensus, therefore, is less an endpoint than a truce. It signals a willingness to cooperate under a managed structure — one that limits escalation while preserving each side’s narrative of sovereignty.

For now, China’s Commerce Ministry has given itself room to maneuver. It has acknowledged TikTok within the diplomatic record but withheld final confirmation. It has promised collaboration but tied it to broader trade reciprocity. And it has done so in a way that keeps the public focus on the principle of parity, not the specifics of the platform.

Progress with conditions

In tone and timing, the ministry’s statement captures the essence of Beijing’s current strategy toward Washington — incremental engagement without explicit concession. TikTok’s mention within a trade communiqué, not a technology announcement, reveals how thoroughly political the issue has become.

The U.S. may prefer to present the transfer as resolved. China, consistent with its methodical posture, prefers to describe it as ongoing cooperation. The two versions can coexist — for now — precisely because the language was written to allow both sides to claim success.

Until China’s commerce authorities issue a specific export license or confirm the completion of the deal, TikTok’s future in the United States remains uncertain. What is clear is that Beijing intends to handle it as part of a wider equation — one measured in tariffs, trust, and time.

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