Deal or no deal?

Xi, Trump discuss trade, fentanyl, Ukraine, and a possible Trump visit to China, but Beijing's readout leaves TikTok deal unmentioned

Welcome back to What’s Happening in China, your weekly China brief.

Despite Trump’s hype about a TikTok deal only awaiting Xi’s approval, Friday’s call between the two leaders left more questions than answers. After the call, Trump claimed on social media that progress had been made on “many very important issues,” including the “approval of the TikTok Deal,” but the Chinese readout made no mention of it.

On Saturday, the PRC’s Commerce Ministry said “China's position on TikTok is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the enterprise, and welcomes it to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules to reach a solution compliant with China's laws and regulations, and strikes a balance of interests.”

During the call, the two sides also discussed trade, fentanyl, the war in Ukraine, a high-level meeting at the APEC summit in South Korea in late October, and a possible Trump visit to China next year. Notably absent was any direct reference to U.S. restrictio…