The United States and China are close to reaching an settlement on the short-video app TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned, as a second day of talks resumed in Madrid to attempt to resolve commerce stress between the 2 nations.
Even if a deal over Chinese divestment from TikTok was not reached it might not have an effect on relations, Bessent added.
“It’s still very good at the highest levels,” Bessent advised reporters alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. “Ambassador Greer and myself have great respect for all counterparts.”
The newest spherical of negotiations, the fourth in 4 months, is happening on the baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz house to Spain’s international ministry and concluded the primary day on Sunday after about six hours with no indication of a breakthrough.
Bessent mentioned each side had made good progress on technical particulars however reaching a deal on different points could be difficult.
“Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” he added. “We will see if we can get there at present. We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app.”
Talks had centered on TikTok, tariffs and the economic system, a U.S. authorities official mentioned, providing no additional particulars.
Extending the TikTok divestment deadline would rely largely on how talks went on Monday, Bessent mentioned. Greer mentioned that whereas the TikTok subject had been resolved it may hinge on reaching offers on different points.
“From the Chinese perspective, they view as part and parcel of the potential TikTok deal a variety of matters, whether it’s tariffs or other measures that have been taken over years,” Greer mentioned.
But the United States was not in a place to merely eradicate each measure it had ever taken to strive resolve the problem, he added.
“We still have to grind through negotiations and discussions of the common understanding, and I don’t think this is the moment to just pull all those things.”
Delegations led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng have met in European cities since May to strive to resolve variations that prompted President Donald Trump to elevate tariffs on Chinese imports and sparked tit-for-tat measures, together with equally excessive import duties by China on U.S. items and a halt in the movement of uncommon earths to the United States.
The delegations final met in Stockholm in July, the place they agreed to prolong for 90 days a commerce truce that sharply diminished triple-digit retaliatory tariffs on each side and restarted the rare-earth exports from China to the United States.
Experts had low expectations of a big breakthrough in Madrid, with the almost certainly end result seen as an additional deadline extension for TikTok’s Chinese proprietor, ByteDance, to divest U.S. operations by September 17 or face a U.S. shutdown.
“I’m not expecting anything substantive between the United States and China unless and until there is a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Xi,” mentioned William Reinsch, a senior commerce adviser at Washington assume tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Setting that up is really what these talks are all about.”
Trump has repeatedly expressed curiosity in a gathering with Xi, however Reinsch mentioned the Chinese wouldn’t agree to such a meet till they knew the end result and have been pushing for additional easing of U.S. export controls on chips and different high-tech items.
“This meeting is an opportunity to measure each other’s positions and to learn more about each side’s red lines,” Reinsch mentioned.
China’s embassy in Madrid notified reporters of a possible concluding information convention on Monday afternoon, indicating the talks may wrap up shortly.
Some earlier discussions over extra difficult points, equivalent to talks in London over uncommon earths shipments, prolonged to a 3rd day.
Bessent was set to be in London on Tuesday to meet British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves forward of Trump’s state go to with King Charles that begins on Wednesday.
Published – September 15, 2025 01:45 pm IST