Donald Trump: new secret ally of China?

Remember Tiktok's blockage in the United States on January 19. The application had been temporarily inaccessible following a decision validated by the American Supreme Court, before Donald Trump intervened to restore it as soon as he came to power.

This saga today takes anew unexpected turning point. The American president has just granted an additional stay to the Chinese social network, even though he was one of the first to ban him during his first mandate.

A reversal of the situation that raises questions

Donald Trump repels the deadline for75 additional days. By presidential decree, he now sets theJune 18, 2025The deadline for Tiktok to submit to American requirements. "My administration worked very hard on an agreement to save Tiktok, and we have made enormous progress," he said on Truth Social.

This turnaround comes after theMeeting between Trump and Jeff Yass, republican billionaire and shareholder of Bytedance. Several relatives of the president were also committed to defend the interests of Tiktok in Washington, fueling speculation on a possible arrangement favorable to China.

"Tiktok America": a solution favorable to Bytedance?

The plan that Donald Trump could reveal in the coming days provides for theCreation of an entity called "Tiktok America". This new structure would be held to50 % by new American investors, 30 % by current investors and 19.9 % by Bytedance.

This distribution would allow the Chinese mother house to maintain a significant influence on the application. Bytedance has not yet officially reacted to this proposal, but this plan seems much more advantageous than the total transfer claimed by the Biden administration.

This conciliatory position towards Tiktok marksA turning point in American foreign policy. It contrasts with the hard line adopted so far towards Chinese technological companies, in particular by Joe Biden who had signed in April 2024 a binding law bytedance to give in Tiktok under penalty of prohibition.

China (indirectly here) obtains a preferential treatment as usual, and this is not an isolated case. Apple agreed to integrate the RCSunder direct pressure of the Chinese government, while she had resisted the requests of the European Union and giants like Google or Samsung for years.

Like Tiktok, Apple folded against Beijing. Two different examples, but the same observation: when it comes to China, the lines are moving, the principles fade.