China hopes firms seek lawful, balanced solutions in TikTok deal

China’s commerce ministry said it hopes companies involved in the TikTok deal reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and balance all parties’ interests.

The comment follows ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent of TikTok, signing binding agreements last week to hand control of its US operations to a group of investors, including Oracle.

This move is seen as a step toward preventing a US ban on TikTok and addressing ongoing regulatory uncertainty.

The ministry spokesperson also urged the US to provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms operating in the country.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

China export rules could slow TikTok’s US selloff

Export controls in China, including 2020 limits on recommendation algorithms (software that ranks and personalizes content) in China’s technology export catalogue (the government list that requires approval before certain tech moves abroad), shape deal 1.
A U.S.-based entity would run TikTok’s U.S. operations (an investor group that includes Oracle) and retrain the model (adapt the model) on U.S. user data, which could reduce the need to transfer the full algorithm, while Beijing’s sign-off remains uncertain 2. Recent strains, including the Pentagon’s (the U.S. Department of Defense) $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, add risk to approval 2.
Oracle would audit compliance as the trusted security partner (a third-party overseer of data protections and processes) after closing, with control of the core recommendation algorithm still unsettled, which may fuel U.S.-China tension around U.S. midterms 2.

Ad buyers respond to TikTok uncertainty

Surveyed marketers say 44% would move TikTok budgets to Instagram Reels (Meta’s short-form video feature) and 26% to YouTube Shorts (Google’s short-form video feed) during uncertainty 3.
Meta’s apps saw a 10% rise in cost per thousand impressions in TikTok’s January 2025 outage, as brands shifted spend without matching impression growth 4.
Adtech (advertising technology) vendors see small businesses squeezed by higher costs on rival platforms, which creates room for tools that help them compete efficiently amid consolidation 4.
Over half of surveyed professionals will keep buying TikTok ads, so agencies can stand out with contingency plans and multiplatform mixes 3.