Politics

The Chinese are waiting for Trump to decide the future of TikTok

Amid growing uncertainty, TikTok executives are taking their time and deciding to postpone any decision regarding the sale of the US part of the platform which brings together approximately 170 million users. The most popular buyer is Elon Musk today right-hand man of the new president and owner of Xthe former Twitter. According to sources close to the negotiations, the Chinese leadership seems intent on waiting for the arrival of Donald Trumpa step that could have a significant impact on the future dynamics of the process.

TikTok, the popular video-sharing application owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the center of political controversy in the United Stateswhere she was accused of posing a threat to national security. Negotiations for its sale have been repeatedly requested by the American government, with Donald Trump which had explicitly taken a position, asking for the transfer of the platform to a US buyer.

Despite various rumors and numerous developments over the course of the year, the strategy of ByteDance seems to be now oriented not to accelerate negotiations before the return of Trump at the White House. The motivation is clear: the Chinese leadership hopes that, with the return of Trumpthere may be new room for maneuver that allows us to avoid a forced sale. Especially since these days there is insistence on possible rethinks regarding duties.

Political uncertainty, in this context, seems to play a crucial role in the strategic choices of the Chinese technological giants, who fear that a sale of TikTok could set a negative precedent, reducing their control over one of the most influential platforms in the world.

In any case, the decision to wait for Trump’s return indicates that the game is far from over for TikTokand that the next political moves could determine the future of the social network globally.

According to sources, the Chinese government has not communicated to ByteDance the ’emergency’ plans and Beijing would not order the sale of the app to a particular investor even if the choice of Musk it could serve to ease the climate between Beijing and Washington. The negotiation, in any case, will not be very simple because Chinese export controls require government approval for the sale of algorithms developed domestically.