The Chinese and American governments may not be on good terms regarding the many restrictions, but about the TikTok sale, the East Asian superpower is open to having ByteDance sell its precious global app. Initially, it was thought that ByteDance's sale of TikTok to the United States would have to pass through the eye of a needle because of its Chinese roots, but apparently, the government is not against it.
That being said, President Donald J. Trump already expressed his support for the previously banned and recently reinstated app, but TikTok's return still has the clock ticking for an American acquisition that only requires 50-50 ownership.
China Green Lights US TikTok Sale For ByteDance
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning shared a new statement via a press conference where she expressed the Chinese government's stance on ByteDance's sale of TikTok to a US-based company. According to Mao, China believes that it is the companies' discretion if they are to sell or merge their properties to other entities or countries, based solely on their "independent decision."
The recent statement made by China's Foreign Ministry is timely as TikTok's sales are on the line, particularly as ByteDance is now scrambling to cut a deal with an American company to continue TikTok's operations in the country.
That being said, Mao regarded that Chinese laws and regulations "should be observed" when engaging on these types of deals, but all-in-all, it is still a green light for ByteDance to sell TikTok in the US should they adhere to the law.
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President Trump Only Requires 50-50 Ownership
President Trump is now the savior of TikTok, and his previous statement (via Engadget) regarding the Chinese social media app's shutdown where he expressed support for the platform has given them the blessing to restore their services. However, it is only borrowed time as Trump still wants ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American buyer, but is only requiring a 50% US ownership of the platform, with the other half remaining to its original owners.
TikTok's Mighty Return: Sale Still Asked by Trump
The biggest news of the week is how TikTok gave 170 million Americans a mini heart attack when it shut down its operations in the country as part of the Foreign Adversary Act, leading to one of the biggest bans against social media platforms of all time. That being said, TikTok may seem to have all the odds against it but President Donald Trump promised that he supports the platform and allowed them to reinstate their services.
As much as 14 hours have passed since Saturday's shutdown from TikTok which left many users without a platform to enjoy, but the company immediately reinstated their operations in the country with an assurance from the new president. Service providers like Apple and Google were also given a pass to avoid facing fines for allowing TikTok to bring back its operations in the country.
Despite all of these, President Trump only said that he would give TikTok an extension of 90 days to find an American buyer for it to continue its operations in the country, but for him, it is no longer required for the full sale of the company. President Trump is only requiring a 50-50 joint ownership of TikTok where ByteDance would still be in the future, and no matter what the outcome is, China is open to a US deal for it.
