Faced with cameras, Donald Trump has signed a Executive order validating a montage presented as Tiktok’s “rescue” in the United States. The announced agreement provides for the creation of a joint venture which would take control of the American application activities, with an estimated valuation to $ 14 billion According to vice-president JD Vance.
President Trump Signs Executive Orders, Sep. 25, 2025 https://t.co/nbtksvnjnt
– The White House (@Whitehouse) September 25, 2025
The assembly, which must still receive the downstream of Beijing, would limit the participation of Bytedance less than 20 % of capital. The main investors would be Oracle, Silver Lake and the MGX Fund based in Abu Dhabi and would hold around 45 %, while the other existing shareholders and new entrants, as General Atlantic, Susquehanna and Sequoiawould share 35 %. Oracle would also have responsibility for operating safety and would continue to provide cloud services to US Tiktok.
Donald Trump presented the operation as a transfer of digital sovereignty, saying that Tiktok would be “detained and exploited by Americans, very sophisticated”. The president cited the participation of Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch as future potential shareholders, without confirmation on their part. No presence of Bytedance leaders was observed during the ceremony, and the company did not officially recognize the transaction.
If the text signed by Trump has a tactical significance and prevents the Department of Justice from applying before the December 16 A national security law that would force Apple, Google and the access providers to stop their services to Tiktok in the absence of sale, the announcement appears as a means of political pressure, In the “Art du Deal” style of Donald Trump.
It remains to be seen how Beijing will react to this staging, and to understand an offer that goes beyond the sole question of Tiktok.
Why Beijing could refuse
The main reason is due to the technological sovereignty. Tiktok is one of the few Chinese digital products to have pierced worldwide and authorize a partial sale under American pressure would create a humiliating preceding and dangerous for Beijing. The American share represents only about 6 % of Tiktok’s international activitywhich puts economic interest in Bytedance and strengthens the political dimension of the file.
China also takes care to protect its strategic assets and no Intellectual property transfer On the recommendation algorithm, classified as a sensitive technology, is not possible. Giving this point would be perceived as a breach in the control exercised by the Communist Party on its digital champions.
Finally, there is a political signal Strong and yield to Washington pressure would reinforce the idea that Beijing folds in the face of threats of sanctions. In the context of Sino-American rivalry, Chinese power prefers to display a firmness posture, even if it means losing part of the American market.
What possible concessions for Trump
To obtain the approval of China, the Trump administration should expand the negotiation field beyond the only Tiktok file. It could go through broader bilateral agreementsincluding for example a targeted reduction in certain customs duties or expanded access to the American market for other Chinese products. Such concessions would allow Beijing to save the face and present the agreement not as a capitulation, but as the fruit of a balanced compromise in a larger commercial setting.
