The United States is getting closer to reaching an agreement with China regarding the social media app TikTok, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday as trade talks with a delegation from Beijing resumed in the Spanish capital. "If a deal is not reached on TikTok, it will not affect the United States' overall relationship with China," Bessent said before entering the talks, describing the relationship as "very good at the highest levels." Speaking to reporters alongside US Trade Representative Jamison Greer, Bessent added: "Ambassador Greer and I have great respect for all the counterparts." Bessent noted that the two sides have made "good progress on the technical details" but acknowledged that "reaching an agreement on the other issues will be difficult." "Our Chinese counterparts came with ra very strong request. We'll see if we can reach a deal for now. We are not prepared to sacrifice national security for a social media app," he said, in a reference to TikTok. TikTok a key focus Bessent indicated that an extension of the deadline for a potential ban on TikTok in the United States would largely depend on the progress of Monday's talks. Greer, for his part, said that if the TikTok issue is resolved, the broader talks could hinge on reaching agreements on other matters. "From the Chinese perspective, they see a variety of things as integral to a potential TikTok deal, whether it's tariffs or other measures that have been taken over the years," he said. Greer stated that the US "was not in a position to simply undo every measure it has ever taken to try to solve the problem." "We still have to go through negotiations and discussions for mutual understanding, and I don't think this is the right moment to simply withdraw all those things," he said. The US-China talks in Madrid, focused on trade tensions and the looming deadline for a Chinese divestment from TikTok, continued for a second day on Monday. The latest round of negotiations, the fourth in four months, is being held at the Santa Cruz Palace, the headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Ministry. The first session on Sunday concluded after about six hours with no sign of a breakthrough. The delegations are led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Expectations for significant progress in Madrid were low, with experts suggesting the most likely outcome would be another extension of the deadline for TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the US market by 17September or face a ban. Potential Trump-Xi summit The ongoing discussions are also seen by some as groundwork for a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, possibly as early as October at the APEC summit in South Korea. "I don't expect anything substantive between the United States and China unless and until there is a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Xi," said William Reinsch, a senior trade adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The preparation for that is really what these talks are about." The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese diplomats have been in contact with the White House for two months, hoping to secure a visit for Trump to China. In return, the US administration has demanded concrete concessions from Beijing on everything from trade to TikTok, which it sees as the "real test now." Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in meeting with Xi. However, Reinsch suggested the Chinese would not agree to such a meeting without knowing the outcome and would press for further easing of US export controls on chips and other high-tech goods. "This meeting is an opportunity to gauge the other side's positions and learn more about each side's red lines," he said. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump said the talks were "going along well" but that TikTok's fate would be determined by Beijing's actions. "Maybe we'll forget about it, or maybe – I don't know, it depends. It's up to China," he said.
