Trump says he will visit China and heralds 'approval' of TikTok deal

US President and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hold second phone call this year

President Trump said he would visit China early next year, while Mr Xi's US trip would be 'at an appropriate time'. AFP

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will visit each other's countries, and will meet at an Asian summit next month, Mr Trump said on Friday.

In a post on Truth Social after speaking to Mr Xi, Mr Trump also touted progress on a deal to keep TikTok operating in the US.

“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at Apec,” Mr Trump wrote, referring to a meeting in South Korea of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, a grouping of 21 economies in the Pacific Rim.

It was not immediately clear if Mr Xi had fully approved a deal for China-owned ByteDance to divest its US TikTok operations. Mr Trump also said “progress” had been made towards a deal.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the social platform X, China's embassy in Washington posted a statement about the ongoing negotiations related to TikTok.

The Chinese embassy in Washington posted a statement about the conversation between Mr Xi and Mr Trump that seemed to push back on the US leader's comments on a TikTok deal.

"China's position on the TikTok issue is clear, the Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question, and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules leading to a solution that complies with China's laws and regulations," the embassy's post on X read.

"The US side needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors."

Mr Trump said he would visit China early next year, while Mr Xi's trip to Washington would come “at an appropriate time”.

China’s official news agency Xinhua said Mr Xi had stressed the importance of bilateral ties and urged the US side to avoid against any “unilateral” trade restrictions.

It was the second time since Mr Trump returned to the White House and imposed tariffs on China that the two leaders had spoken.

“We made progress on many very important issues including trade, fentanyl, the need to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok deal,” Mr Trump wrote.

The video-sharing app was banned last year over concern about how US user data could be compromised by China's government. Mr Trump, who credits TikTok with helping him attract younger voters, has issued four orders to delay the ban from taking effect.

TikTok has challenged the law up to the US Supreme Court, which ruled against the company and found the ban to be constitutional.

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TikTok is showing no signs that it plans to reduce its US presence, with the company posting at least 10 job openings on its website.

TikTok maintains an office presence in Washington. Photo: Cody Combs