Responding to a reporter's question at a public event held at the White House to sign presidential decrees, Donald Trump said that he and Xi Jinping primarily discussed the sale of the American company behind the social media app TikTok, on which an agreement had been reached. The president said that American business interests, which are among the world's largest investors, are ready to join the process, but added that the agreement has yet to be signed.
Donald Trump believed that China would also like the app, which is currently Chinese-owned, to continue operating in the United States.
US law requires Chinese owner ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary. The law cites US national security interests. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly postponed the deadline for the sale in order to ensure its successful completion, arguing that he wants to maintain the operation of the video app, which is popular among young people.
Under US law, if the Chinese owner does not sell the US subsidiary of TikTok by the deadline, the United States will block its operation.
Donald Trump confirmed that during a telephone conversation with Xi Jinping, they agreed on the need to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the US president said that his Chinese counterpart had promised to help bring the conflict to an end. The situation in Gaza was also discussed during the US-China summit.
Donald Trump had previously announced that he would travel to Beijing early next year, and the Chinese president's visit to Washington is also in the works.
The US president also said that negotiations are underway between the United States and Afghanistan to return the Bagram air base to US control. Donald Trump reiterated that he considers it a huge mistake that US forces gave up the base, which has one of the world's largest aircraft runways, during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
