• 'The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!' says US president
• Urging Trump against taking restrictive unilateral trade measures targeting China, Xi Jinping thanks US for support during World War II

WASHINGTON / ISTANBUL 

President Donald Trump hailed a "very productive" telephone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday, and appeared to signal Beijing's sign-off on a deal for American firms to acquire TikTok's US operations.

"I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal," he said on his social media platform.

"The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!" he added.

Trump was referring to the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which is slated to be hosted by South Korea on Oct. 31. Trump said he would be visiting China "in the early part of next year" with Xi set to come to the US "at an appropriate time."

TikTok faced a ban in the US if its operations in the country were not sold to American firms. On Wednesday, Trump postponed the halt to its US operations for a third time to allow for negotiations to continue. The day prior, Trump said a "group" of American companies would purchase the social media company, but he has so far not identified them.

Much of the intrigue around Friday's call between the American and Chinese leaders surrounded the potential finalization of the agreement, and it was not immediately clear if it had been completed.

Xi, for his part, said Beijing was “clear” on TikTok issue, without confirming any deal to complete the sale of the Chinese social media app to the US side.

He emphasized China’s “respect” for the will of the US firms, urging business negotiations "in line with market rules" and a solution "that conforms to Chinese laws and regulations,” to balance interests, according to Chinese state-run Xinhua News.

Beijing described the phone call as “pragmatic, positive and constructive.”

Urging Trump against taking restrictive unilateral trade measures targeting China, Xi said: "the Chinese people will never forget the valuable support of the US and other anti-fascist allies during Chinese war of resistance against Japanese aggression."

He told Trump that China and the US can "achieve mutual success and shared prosperity, benefiting both countries and world."​​​​​​​