US and Chinese officials are entering a second round of trade discussions in Spain on Monday, while a looming deadline threatens TikTok’s future in the United States unless its Chinese parent company secures a buyer.
Leading the delegations are US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, in what is the newest phase of efforts to ease tensions between the two economic powers. Their last top-level encounter took place in Sweden in July, where both sides agreed to pause new tariffs for 90 days.
The fate of TikTok remains uncertain. Although US President Donald Trump once pushed for the app to be barred in the US, he has since delayed the enforcement three times. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, he remarked, “We may let [TikTok] die. Or we may… I don’t know. It depends. Up to China, it doesn’t matter too much.”
The current deadline is due to expire on Wednesday, though speculation is mounting that another extension will be granted for the fourth time, reports the BBC.
In August, Trump had indicated he would continue postponing the ban until an acquisition was arranged, dismissing concerns over ByteDance and data security as “highly overrated.”
The platform has around 170 million American users, making it one of the most popular social networks globally.
Alongside talks over TikTok, negotiators are also expected to prepare for a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October, coinciding with a summit in South Korea.
The existing truce on tariffs, now pushed back until November, has temporarily reduced duties that had been set to climb above 100 percent on goods from both nations.
According to the White House, this extension allows additional time to work through disputes over “unfair trade practices” and national security concerns.
