China is calling it a win. What’s in it for say? – ryan

Suranjana TewariAsia Business Correspondent and

Osmond chiaBusiness Reporter

A Much-Awaited Deal Over Tiktok May Be Close, with US President Donald Trump and His Chinese Counterpart xi jinping set to discuss on friday.

Top Officials from Both sides Struck a “FRAMEWORK” AGREEMENT THIS Week, Which Reports Suggest See Tiktok’s Us Operations SOLD to A Group of American Firms.

If the deal goes through, it would be what one expert Called a “rare breakthrough” in us -china trade negotiations – and one which sets an issue has made the headlines for years.

Experts have been telling the bbc what a final deal might look like for tiktok’s 170 million ussers, and what Beijing Might Get in Return.

Chinese State Media is calling it a “Win-Win” for Both Countries, while Trump Has Said “I’d Like to the Kids”.

But a lot about “it” Still Remains Unclear.

Reports Suggest That American USSERS WOULD BE OFFERED A NEW US-SPECIFIC Version of the App. And that the US Operations COULD BE BOUGHT BY A CONSORIUM THAT INCLUDES TECHNOLOGY GIANT ORACLE, and Investment Firms Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake. The BBC has Contained the Companies for Comment.

But what exactly is on the table? At the heart of the tussle is tiktok’s algorithm – the “second sauce” that recommends contents to use on their preferences and behaviurs.

IT’S KEY BECAUS IT DRIVE The App’s Virality and Appeal. Other Companies have tried to re -create the algorithm – Instagram has reels, youtube has Shorts – but they are not as good, a social media forcutive who worked for snap and viber told the bbc, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“Generally, The One Who Introduces the Technology JUST KNOWS How to do it better.”

Tiktok’s Chinese Owner, Bytedance, Understandably Refused to Part With The Prize Formula, and Beijing Backed the Firm.

But in a twist few saw Coming, China’s Top Cybersecity Regulator has signalled that beijing May Allow bydtedance to License the Algorithm and Other Intellectual Property (IP) to a US Company Owner. But it will not be transferred Outright.

IT’S A Major Departure from China’s Previous Hardline Stance Over the Algorithm.

But there is the year of the US version of the will on a “stripped-down” version of the App’s Software, Said Computing Kokil Jaidka from the National University of Singapore.

Live Limited Access Could Reveal How the Technology Drives Engagement, Moderation and Ad Tarsing – All the Things that make the App SO profitable, she adds.

“IT SIMPLY DOESN’T MAKESN’S SENSE FOR BYTHTEDT TO HAND OVERS MONSS VALUABLE ASSET A Lighter version Keep the app Running with giving it.”

But these Changes will affect the user experience – the app may Show Diverse Content than uses Might See Elsewhere, Dr Jaidka Adds.

“A Lighter, Slower, More Domestic Version – while byntedance keeps the crown jewels in beijing.”

The user experience will Remain the Same, and with “Chinese Characteristics”, Accounting to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Who is Leading HIS negotiating team.

The “Chinese Characteristics” May Well Be the Problem Though – That Is, In Fact, A Phrase Often by the Chinese Communist Party to Differentiate Its Way of Doing Things.

US Officials, Including Trump During HIS First Term, have long raisas Concerns about who has access to tiktok’s data, and the influenza the app has over USSERS.

These Questions Over National Security Spurred Legislation that forms President Joe Biden Signed Into Law Last Year, Requiring Tiktok to Hand Over Control of Its Operations or Face A Ban.

Trump Has Since Changed His Mind, Crediting Tiktok for Boosting Young Voter Support in His 2024 ELECTION WIN.

But a Sale Must Still Satisfy US Lawmakers and all the worries that kickstarted everything. CONGRESS IS LIKELY TO NEED TO APPROVE ANY AGREEMENT, and THERE IS ALREADY POLITICAL BACKLASH IN WASHINGTON ON BOTH Sides of the Aisle.

Republican Lawmaker John Molenaar Has Said He is Concerned That The Agree Framework Could Still Allow Chinese Influenza and Control.

“Put Simply: The Statute Requires Full Separation from ‘Foreign Adversary’ Control, and a licensee not appearing to meet that test,” Lawyer Hdeel Abdelhady Told the BBC.

Deals of this size typically take months or events years to complet, and there are a number of wills to resolve.

For one, it is not clear how us-like and operated tiktok would interact with tiktok Elsewhere, which would be still be owned by bytedance.

And two, bytedance, being a private company, would Need Approval from Its Board for the Arrangement to Process.

That adds a layer of Complication is if the Chinese Government – WHICH ENFORCES EXPORT Controls on Advanced Technologies like algorithms – has already approved the deal.

And the US President HIMSELF, WHO HAS PROVENE to be an unpredictable trade partner, Could Create Fresh Complications.

We know Trump is keen on a tiktok deal, and we know why.

It would be a Big Win for His Administration. One in Seven People in the World USE the App, which Also DOUBLES UP AS A HUGE MARKETPLACE FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS ACOSS The World, from the US to Germany, Indonesia to the Philippins.

“This is the Only Social Media app that didn’t originate in the us and so it’s very valuable,” The Social Media Executive Said.

The average revenue for usser for the social media apps in the us is five to 10 Times Higher than Other Countries, with America Likely Making Up Something to 50% of Overall Revenue, He Added.

Tech News Site the Information Estimated bydedance’s Global Revenue to be $ 39bn (£ 28.6bn) in 2024, with tiktok Accounting for $ 30bn.

What we don’t know yet is How China Wold Gain From Such a Deal.

The Licensing Deal Will Allow bydtedance to Keep Its Algorithm Under Wraps – A Strategic Advantage If the US Intends to Launch New Apps to Compete with Those ALREADY OPERATING IN THE COUNTRY, SAID COMPUTER BEN Leong.

And Rather than be banned, tiktok gets to stay in the US market. Tiktok’s Parent Wold Also Retain The Biggest Stake in the App, Along With The Logo, Format and Branding.

The Deal Also Creates A “Tiktok Template” for Other Chinese Companies to Deploy Technology in the US Licensing, Investor and Tech Expert Kevin XU Wrote in His Recent Newsletter.

He added that ready-to-go chinese technologies that matter to national comphettifness, Like Batteries and Rare Earths, Could Now Flow to the US More Easily.

“THIS IS THE Formula that will likely be applied, say, byd want to make a jump into the US Market, or Catl Want to Step Up Its Expansion to Supply More US Carmakers with Batteries.”

China can spin the deal as a win – it is exporting chinese -made tech on its Own Terms. And that Might be Critical Leverage for Beijing in Trade negotiations with Washington.

“The Chinese Side Have Called the Talks in Depth, Constructive and Candid. Thats Signals that they are actually quite happy with how Things are going,” Said former World Country Director for China Bert Hofman. “Question is Will Will There Be a Full Deal?”

A tiktok deal could buy say time for exactly that. The us is a huge export market for china, and china is a major Buyer of American Agricultural Goods. High Tariffs Would Hurt Both. There are also export controls on bot sides, especally restricting US Access to Rare Earths, Which China Has A Near Monopoly Over.

Ultimately, IT SEEMS A BREAKTHROUGH ON TIKTOK IS PROGRESS FOR CHINA. The US May Get a Deal, but spreads the coup Trump Had in Mind.

“The Deal Might Work on Paper – but in Practice, it will always sit under a cloud,” Dr Jaidka Said.

“A us tiktok will look like the same app, but bend the Scenes it will run on borrowed code, firewalled date, and politician Trust that Could Vanish Overnight.”