“I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok, and also trade,” Trump told Fox News on Thursday.
The call will be only the second between the two leaders since Trump’s return to the White House in January, and their third since the start of 2025. It comes against a backdrop of mutual suspicion, after Trump accused Xi of working to “conspire against the United States” alongside Russia and North Korea.
Trump has repeatedly postponed a ban on TikTok, which was initially ordered under a law forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations over national security concerns.
On Thursday, Trump said he hoped to “finalize something on TikTok” soon, adding that the U.S. business of the app would be “owned by all American investors, and very rich people and companies.”
He also credited TikTok with helping him connect with younger voters during the 2024 election campaign.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Oracle and two California-based funds — Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz — could form a consortium to control the app.
The leaders are also expected to discuss trade, after months of tariff escalation disrupted global supply chains. Both countries imposed heavy duties earlier this year, before reaching a temporary deal that lowered tariffs. That agreement, which expires in November, still leaves the U.S. charging 30% duties on Chinese imports, while Beijing maintains 10% tariffs on American goods.
Analysts predict each leader will try to project strength. “Each leader will aim to signal that he has outmaneuvered the other,” Ali Wyne of the International Crisis Group wrote in a note.
In June, Trump revealed Xi had invited him to visit China, while he extended a reciprocal offer for Xi to visit Washington. No trips have yet been planned, though observers expect Xi to repeat his invitation, knowing Trump’s appetite for high-profile diplomacy.
The call follows Xi’s recent summit with Russia and India, attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a guest. Trump mocked the gathering online, writing to Xi on his Truth Social account: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America.”
At the same time, Trump has punished India with tariffs over its oil imports from Russia and urged Europe to sanction China for the same reason — even though Washington itself has stopped short of directly penalizing Beijing.
As Trump and Xi prepare to talk, both leaders face pressure at home and abroad to show results, raising the stakes for a phone call that could shape U.S.-China relations in the months ahead.
