China halts TikTok deal amid rising tensions over US tariffs

(Reuters): China has blocked a proposed deal to sell TikTok’s US operations to American investors in response to President Trump’s decision to sharply increase tariffs on Chinese imports, sources familiar with the talks have said.

The structure of the deal, which was largely finalised by Wednesday, according to one of the sources, would have spun off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in America, owned and operated by a majority of US investors. ByteDance would hold a minority stake of under 20%.

The deal was approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance, and the US government, the source said.

ByteDance and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump on Friday extended by 75 days a deadline for Chinese technology firm ByteDance to sell US assets of the popular short video app TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban that was due to take effect in January under a 2024 law.

“The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump said on social media, explaining why he was extending the January deadline that was supposed to expire on Saturday. “We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand is not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs.”

China now faces a 54% tariff on goods imported into the United States after Trump announced a 34% hike this week, prompting China to retaliate on Friday. Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to finalise a deal with ByteDance to sell the app used by 170 million Americans.