AsianFin -- China on Monday confirmed senior Chinese officials and their U.S. counterparts have clinched a framework agreement on the TikTok issue through their high-level trade talks in Spain.

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During a two-day meeting with U.S. officials in Madrid, China and U.S. engaged in candid and in-depth discussions on TikTok and the relevant concerns of the Chinese side, and the two sides reached a basic framework consensus on resolving issues related to TikTok through cooperation, reducing investment barriers and promoting relevant economic and trade cooperation, said Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and vice minister of commerce, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

Both sides will continue to maintain close communication, discuss the details of the relevant outcome documents, and each will go through the domestic approval procedures, according to Li. He stressed China’s position on the TikTok issue. China has always opposed politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of technology as well as economic and trade matters and will never seek to reach any agreement at the expense of principles, interests of companies, or international fairness and justice, said the senior Chinese official.

Li also repeated China’s pledge to protect local businesses’ interests. China will firmly safeguard the national interests, the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, and carry out technology export approval in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, Li said.

Focusing on respecting business interests and market laws,  both China and the U.S. have reached a basic consensus on resolving the TikTok issue, through outsourcing operations of TikTok's US user data and content security business, as well as licensing its intellectual property rights, including algorithms, said Wang Jingtao, deputy director of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC).

Wang stated that the Chinese government has consistently and firmly supported safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and their active overseas expansion. He expressed hope that the U.S. side, in accordance with the consensus reached between the two sides, will provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies, including TikTok, to continue operating in the US, thereby promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

Li and Wang made the remarks at a press briefing following economic and trade talks with the U.S. That was the fourth round of trade talks between China and the United States is being held in Madrid, the first time such negotiations have taken place in Europe. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng led the delegation in Spain for talks with U.S. officials from September 14 to 17.

Li described the meeting as a “candid, in-depth and constructive communication based on mutual respect and equal consultation regarding economic and trade issues of mutual concern, including TikTok.” While it is normal for China and the United States to see frictions and differences in the course of trade and economic cooperation given their different levels of development and different economic systems, the key is to respect each other's core interests and major concerns and find proper solutions to the issues through dialogue and consultation, according to Li.

During the meeting on Monday, vice premier He told U.S. counterparts that China's determination to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests is unwavering, Xinhua reported. He also said that the Chinese side will resolutely protect the national interests and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese-funded enterprises overseas.

He urged the US side to walk with China in the same direction, and lift the relevant restrictions on China as soon as possible. The vice premier also called on the US side to take concrete actions to jointly safeguard the hard-won achievements of the talks, and continuously create a favorable atmosphere for the stability of China-US economic and trade relations.

Earlier Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, , who is leading the U.S. delegation in trade talks with China, told reporters the Trump administration and China has reached a “framework” for a deal to keep TikTok operational in the U.S. “I think on the TikTok deal itself, we are very close or we’ve resolved the issue,” Bessent said. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a deadline for TikTok to divest its U.S. assets three times during his second term, and the next deadline is September 17, Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday that the deadline may need to be pushed back to get the deal signed, but there won’t be ongoing extensions.