Ammon News - U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on a TikTok agreement and would meet face-to-face in six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and Russia's war in Ukraine.

The two sides appeared to lower tensions during the first call in three months between the leaders of the two superpowers, but it was not immediately clear that the call had yielded the firm agreement that had been expected over the fate of the popular short-video app.

The leaders did agree to further talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that starts on October 31 in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Trump also said he would visit China early next year and that Xi would come to the U.S. at a later date. Reuters previously reported that the two sides were planning such a meeting.

"He approved the TikTok deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that there could remain a formal signing of the agreement. "The TikTok deal is well on its way."

Beijing's final approval of a framework deal reached by the two sides this week is one of the hurdles Trump needed to clear to keep TikTok open. Congress had ordered the app shut down for U.S. users by January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.

China's statement made no reference to a formal agreement on TikTok. Trump had signaled multiple times this week that a deal might be forthcoming.

"China's position on the TikTok issue is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question," the government said in a statement that called for non-discriminatory treatment of its companies.

"The U.S. will work with China on the economy and trade, and support their teams in reaching a proper deal on TikTok through consultation."

Reuters