Xi turns against Trump, Beijing blocking TikTok deals
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The White House’s effort to force a divestiture of TikTok’s US operations has reportedly collapsed, at least for now, after Beijing refused to approve a proposed deal. The abrupt reversal results from a tariff-for-tariff standoff between Beijing and Washington, where the former feels “disrespected” by President Donald Trump’s insistence on raising tariffs on Chinese imports. According to a Thursday report from Politico, the deal to spin TikTok’s US business into a new American-owned entity had been finalized. It was set for public announcement just days before a legal deadline. Under the terms of the agreement, US investors would take majority ownership and control of the video app’s American operations, sources familiar with the negotiations said. ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, would have retained only a minority stake to satisfy the Trump administration’s mandate for Chinese divestment. Beijing kills TikTok deal after new tariff hikes Sources now say the agreement fell apart as early as last week, when President Donald Trump imposed a “retaliatory” extra 34% tariff on Chinese imports, resonating the increase to what he called “China’s continued abuse of global trade norms.” The next day, ByteDance representatives informed the White House that Beijing would no longer approve the divestiture. Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order to extend the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations by 75 days, moving it to June 19. Trump then went on to add the tariff rate on Chinese goods on Wednesday to 125% and accused China of showing “a lack of respect to the World’s Markets.” At the same time, he reduced tariffs on other countries to 10% for a 90-day negotiation period. China President Xi Jinping and his camp were not happy about this, and the government’s decision to block the transaction could be a vengeful response to…
