US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping approved a deal on the future of TikTok's US operations during a phone call on Friday, although there was no confirmation from Beijing.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the call was productive and he appreciated Xi's approval of a deal, which would reportedly see TikTok's US business sold to a group of US investors.
China's official state news agency Xinhua left the outcome of their discussion less clear, with Xi quoted as saying that Beijing welcomes negotiations over TikTok.
TikTok, which is run by Chinese firm ByteDance, was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.
Trump, however, delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.
In his post, Trump wrote the two had made progress on trade issues and would meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, scheduled to begin at the end of October in South Korea, and said he would travel to China.
Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon that a deal still had to be signed, and signalled there could be a formal process to do so soon.
That deal will reportedly see a group of US firms - said to include Oracle, which was co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison - that would enable TikTok to continue operating in the US, using algorithm technology licensed from ByteDance.
A sticking point in negotiations appears to be who will own the powerful algorithm that pushes content to TikTok's 170 million American users.
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump sidestepped a question from a reporter about whether an American buyer would need to build a new algorithm, or if they could continue to use the current algorithm.
Trump added he believes TikTok has tremendous value to the US.
Xinhua reported that China's position on TikTok is very clear and that it welcomed firms to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and a balance of interests.
A statement by ByteDance on Friday cast further doubt on the status of a deal.
Many US lawmakers - including some from within Trump's own party - have expressed unease with the prospect of a deal, citing ongoing concerns about ByteDance's links with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.
The call between Xi and Trump is the second so far this year, following their earlier discussion in June about China's export of rare earth minerals, which resulted in China agreeing to approve export permits to US companies.
