Trump upbeat over tariff talks with China, announces phone call with Xi

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about ongoing trade talks with China in Madrid on Monday, announcing he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday while hinting at progress on TikTok's future.

"The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said a deal has been reached with a "certain company" that young Americans "very much wanted to save." He predicted that the young people would be "very happy" with the outcome and appeared to reference the social media app TikTok without naming it.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the countries are "very close" to a TikTok deal during the fourth round of talks in Madrid.

Trump also said he will speak to Xi on Friday, emphasizing the strong relations with Beijing: "The relationship remains a very strong one!!!"

The talks, continuing through Wednesday, operate under a tariff truce on Chinese imports extended until November. A 10% reciprocal tariff remains in effect during the suspension.

TikTok faces a nationwide ban over national security concerns about potential data sharing with Beijing. US Congress passed bipartisan legislation in 2024 requiring ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest US operations by Sept. 17 - Trump's third extension of the deadline.

The talks occur amid hopes for a potential meeting between Trump and Xi during next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.

Trump has previously reached trade deals with the UK, South Korea, Japan and the EU, among others, while continuing to hold talks with many others.

ISTANBUL

"The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the countries are "very close" to a TikTok deal during the fourth round of talks in Madrid.

Trump also said he will speak to Xi on Friday, emphasizing the strong relations with Beijing: "The relationship remains a very strong one!!!"

The talks, continuing through Wednesday, operate under a tariff truce on Chinese imports extended until November. A 10% reciprocal tariff remains in effect during the suspension.

The talks occur amid hopes for a potential meeting between Trump and Xi during next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.

Trump has previously reached trade deals with the UK, South Korea, Japan and the EU, among others, while continuing to hold talks with many others.