US-China trade talks resume in Spain as TikTok deadline nears

US and Chinese officials are entering a second day of trade negotiations in Madrid on Monday, with the fate of TikTok’s US operations looming over the discussions.

The talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, are the latest effort to ease tensions in a trade war that has rattled relations between the world’s two largest economies. Their last high-level meeting in Sweden in July produced a 90-day extension of the tariff truce.

A key focus now is TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform owned by China’s ByteDance. Under US law, TikTok must divest its American business or face a nationwide ban. The current deadline expires Wednesday, but expectations are growing that it will be extended for a fourth time.

President Donald Trump, who once called for TikTok to be banned, has since softened his stance. Speaking Sunday, he said: “We may let [TikTok] die. Or we may… I don’t know. It depends. Up to China, it doesn’t matter too much.” He has previously described concerns about national security and user privacy tied to the app as “highly overrated.”

TikTok, which counts about 170 million users in the United States, has not publicly commented on the deadline.

Beyond TikTok, negotiators are working to prepare the ground for a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October, when both leaders are scheduled to attend a summit in South Korea.

The White House confirmed that the tariff truce between Washington and Beijing has been extended until November, easing threats of triple-digit duties on each other’s exports. Officials said the extension provides space to tackle disputes over trade practices and broader security issues.