For years, Beijing bristled at Washington’s demands that TikTok be sold off, dismissing the push as “robbers’ logic.” The video app, wildly popular with young Americans, became another front in the larger battle over technology, influence, and national security.
Now, China is signaling something different. Officials have begun floating the possibility that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, could part with its U.S. operations — a shift that has stirred speculation about what Beijing hopes to gain in return.
TikTok’s value lies not just in its audience of more than 170 million Americans, but in its algorithm — the recommendation engine credited with making the app addictive. Under export controls introduced in 2020, transferring such technology abroad requires Chinese government approval. State media once described that rule as a “red line,” making Beijing’s apparent willingness to negotiate all the more striking.
Analysts suggest the platform has become a bargaining chip. “If China is entertaining a deal now, it’s because they believe they can extract bigger concessions on trade, technology, or Taiwan,” said Dexter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.
In Washington, President Donald Trump is pressing for a quick resolution, eager to secure his first meeting with Xi Jinping since reclaiming the White House. A senior White House official told reporters this week that China had agreed in principle to license TikTok’s algorithm to a new U.S. venture, with Oracle — the Texas software giant — tasked with retraining it using American data.
Oracle’s role is politically loaded. Its cofounder, Larry Ellison, a vocal supporter of Israel, has pledged cloud and cybersecurity services since the Gaza war began in 2023. Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have accused TikTok of amplifying pro-Palestinian voices. That backdrop makes Ellison’s company a curious steward for the app’s future in the U.S.
What remains murky is how much either side is prepared to concede. Trump has repeatedly extended deadlines for a sale, while Beijing has offered only guarded remarks. Both capitals describe progress, but their accounts diverge.
At stake is more than the fate of a social media app. TikTok now embodies the contest between two superpowers, each determined to control not only technology, but also the flow of information itself.
Africa Digital News, New York
