Donald Trump’s much-touted call with Xi Jinping failed to finalize a long-awaited deal to spin off TikTok’s US operations, but China’s top leader did signal his blessing for the plan – as long as it aligns with Beijing’s interests.
At first glance, Beijing’s willingness to play ball on TikTok looks like a sharp reversal from its years of resistance to relinquishing control over the viral video app – the first global social media hit to come out of China.
But rather than bowing to Trump’s pressure campaign, analysts say, Chinese leaders are using an app cherished by the US president and millions of Americans as leverage to extract other, far more consequential concessions.
And judging by comments from Chinese officials and state media on the “framework” reached by the US and China in Madrid this week, Beijing appears intent on retaining ownership of TikTok’s most prized asset, its algorithm that has helped the app attract 170 million Americans and more than 1.5 billion users worldwide.
But it raises questions over how that arrangement would comply with the US law on TikTok, which explicitly precludes any cooperation concerning “the operation of a content recommendation algorithm.”
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