Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Bessent said the transaction would be formally endorsed by President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting in Korea later this week.
“We reached a final deal on TikTok,” Bessent said. “We reached it in Madrid, and I believe all the details are ironed out. It will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction.”
While Bessent declined to share details of the agreement, he confirmed that the TikTok deal formed part of a broader trade framework now being negotiated between Washington and Beijing, expected to cover agriculture, technology access and fentanyl control.
The announcement follows Trump’s 25 September executive order, which cleared the way for new American-led ownership of TikTok, including a majority stake held by US investors.
“My remit was to get the Chinese to approve the transaction,” Bessent said. “I believe we successfully accomplished that over the past two days.”
According to sources familiar with the talks, the deal — valued at around $14 billion — will give US and international investors a 65 per cent stake in TikTok’s US business, leaving ByteDance and Chinese shareholders with less than 20 per cent. The agreement also hands control of TikTok’s algorithm and six of seven board seats to the new American owners.
The transaction has already drawn political scrutiny in Washington. Reports suggest that Rupert Murdoch and Oracle founder Larry Ellison are among the investors backing the acquisition. Barron Trump, the president’s 19-year-old son, has been floated by former Trump media aides as a potential board member.
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has been at the centre of geopolitical tensions since Trump’s first term, when he sought to ban the app over national-security concerns. His successor, Joe Biden, signed a bipartisan TikTok ban into law in April 2024, but enforcement was repeatedly delayed to allow time for an ownership transfer.
The timing of the agreement is significant. Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday ahead of the ASEAN summit, part of a five-day tour of Asia that will culminate in Thursday’s face-to-face meeting with Xi.
The two leaders are expected to discuss soybean and agricultural purchases, the US trade deficit, and the American fentanyl crisis, which the White House has cited as justification for maintaining 20 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports.
Analysts say the TikTok deal is likely intended to demonstrate progress in US–China negotiations ahead of more complex trade discussions later this year.
Jamie Young
Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the 'covid era' and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine's coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk
