China to widen agenda, bring up WeChat, TikTok in next US trade talks

US and Chinese negotiators plan to discuss progress of their trade deal in the coming days, with Beijing pushing to widen the agenda to include Washington’s recent crackdown on businesses including TikTok and WeChat.

A virtual meeting will likely take place as soon as this week though a date hasn’t been finalized, according to people familiar with preparations for the talks who asked not to be named. President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser on Tuesday downplayed concerns the phase-one agreement will fall apart.

Along with agricultural purchases and the dollar-yuan exchange rate, Chinese officials intend to bring up Trump’s prospective bans on transactions with the two apps on national security grounds, the people said without elaborating about what China hopes to achieve by doing so.