Washington and Beijing advance in a Tiktok pact, but conversations are crossed by orders for tariff sales and geopolitical tensions.
During your meeting in Madrid, USA and China They resumed negotiations about the future of Tiktok. The main axis is the disinvestment of Bytedance, His parent company, but the discussion was extended to sensitive commercial issues such as tariffs and technological restrictions. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, acknowledged that the talks They will not be easy.
Besent warned that the Washington government will not put its national security at risk: “We are not willing to sacrifice national security for an application of social networks.” As he explained, the Chinese delegation came with a firm position: “Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive request.”
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At his side, the commercial representative Jamieson Greer remarked that Beijin seeks that the eventual agreement includes a broader range of economic issues: “From the Chinese perspective, they consider that the possible agreement with Tiktok includes a variety of issues, whether they are tariffs or other measures that have been adopted for years. “
An extension in the sights
The deadline for Bytedance to sell its operations in the US expires the September 17. If you don’t, Tiktok could be blocked in that country. Besent admitted that an extension of the term will depend on the direction of the talks in Madrid, in what already constitutes the fourth round of negotiations in four months.
The spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce accused Washington of coercion for demand tariffs on allies Faced with Russian oil purchases: “This is a typical act of unilateral intimidation and economic coercion, a serious violation of the consensus achieved by Chinese and American Heads of State.”
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Cross tensions
The agenda was also marked by preliminary investigation against Nvidia in China For alleged antitrust practices, a measure that is interpreted as retaliation with US restrictions to the chips sector.
Meanwhile, The Trump administration faces a possible setback from the Supreme Court that could cancel the tariffs imposed on China this year, weakening the pressure on Beijing.
Despite the tensions, Besent was optimistic: “At the highest level, the situation is still very good. The ambassador Greer and I have great respect for all our counterparts. “
Source: Ambito
