China and the United States are “very close” to reaching an agreement on TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday in Madrid, where the two countries began a second day of trade talks.
“On the TikTok deal itself, we are very close to solving the issue. There are a number of other points that remain unresolved,” Scott Bessent told reporters.
“If we do not reach an agreement on TikTok, it will not affect the overall relationship between the two countries. It remains very good,” he added, stressing that he has “a lot of respect for [his] counterparts.”
Trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies resumed Monday at the Spanish Foreign Ministry, a day after the opening of this new round of talks aimed at resolving disputes over trade and technology that have strained their relations, according to an AFP journalist.
The delegations are led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on one side, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the other, and could continue until Wednesday.
The agenda includes two of the most sensitive issues in bilateral relations between the two countries: President Donald Trump’s threat to impose high tariffs on Chinese imports, and Washington’s demand that TikTok be sold to a non-Chinese owner by September 17 or face a ban in the United States.
The meetings in Madrid could lay the groundwork for a possible summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.
