TikTok’s Chinese owner appears to be slow-rolling negotiations for sale: Report
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China is likely to take a hardline approach, letting TikTok’s US operations die rather than approving a sale.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Short video app TikTok’s owner ByteDance seems to be slow-rolling negotiations for a sale while waiting for approval from the Chinese government, even as US President Donald Trump’s allies race to broker a deal to sell it to an American bidder, The Washington Post reported on Feb 5.
China is likely to take a hardline approach, letting TikTok’s US operations die rather than approving a sale, as it holds out for a “grand deal” with Mr Trump’s administration that includes larger concessions on trade and tech policy, the report said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the report.
The move follows a renewal of a trade war between the world’s top two economies, as China slapped tariffs on US imports, in a swift response to new US duties on Chinese goods that, unlike those of Mexico and Canada, were not halted by Mr Trump.
Mr Trump late in January said he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok
The app, which is used by 170 million Americans, was taken offline temporarily for users shortly before a law that said it must be sold by ByteDance on national security grounds, or be banned, took effect on Jan 19.
Mr Trump, after taking office a day later, signed an executive order seeking to delay the law’s enforcement by 75 days. This law was put in place after US officials warned about the risk of misuse of Americans’ data under ByteDance. REUTERS
