Trump signs order certifying TikTok deal meets US security requirements

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday certifying that a deal that will shift TikTok's US operations to an American consortium meets national security requirements mandated by a domestic law.

The order, which also extends a moratorium on a US ban mandated under the law for 270 days, is one of the final steps before the deal can be finalized. Trump said that during a call last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his approval for the agreement.

"I had a very good talk with President Xi (Jinping) -- lot of respect for him. Hopefully, he has a lot of respect for me, too. And we talked about TikTok and other things, but we talked about TikTok and he gave us the go-ahead," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

A senior White House official told reporters earlier this week that after the order is signed, ByteDance will sign a framework agreement with at least one managing investor within the new consortium as regulatory reviews are completed.

The official said under the terms of the deal, ByteDance's share will dip below 20% to ensure compliance with the US law passed by Congress last year that threatened to shutter the app on American soil unless major changes are made, including the sale of the app's US operations.

Under the law, TikTok was required to have a US owner or be blocked in the US, though President Donald Trump has postponed any ban multiple times since taking office in January.

Trump said the investor consortium will be comprised of tech company Oracle, Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch and others.

"We have probably four or five absolutely world class investors that love the country. They made a lot of money with the country," he said. The official added that investment firm, Silver Lake, will also be involved.

- Beijing seeks respect for its interests

Reacting to Trump’s new executive order on TikTok, Chinese Foreign Ministry referred to “basic framework of consensus” reached between the US and China on the issue.

“China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear. The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question, and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing on Friday.

“The US side needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors,” Guo added.

US Vice President JD Vance said the new American company will be valued at around $14 billion.

"We actually think this is a good deal for investors, but ultimately the investors are going to make the determination about what they want to invest in and what they think is proper value," said Vance.

"The most important thing is that it does protect Americans' data security. It ensures TikTok is still accessible, and on this question of the algorithm, which we've heard this a lot -- what this deal ensures is that the American entity and the American investors will actually control the algorithm," he added.