China’s government on Monday sidestepped a question on US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he “pretty much” has a deal with Beijing to bring TikTok into American ownership and that talks with China over the popular short-video app could begin early this week.

President Trump said he will begin talks with China in coming days on the sale of TikTok. “We pretty much have a deal,” Trump told reporters late Friday. “I think we’re gonna start Monday or Tuesday .

ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, is developing a backup plan as it faces a deadline to sell its US operations or risk a

We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way. Very wealthy people. It’s a group of wealthy people,” Trump said during an interview with Fox's Sunday Morning Futures, as reported by Bloomberg. He added that he would reveal the names of the buyers “in about two weeks.

The law, passed last year with strong bipartisan support, originally gave ByteDance until January 19 to divest from TikTok or face a complete shutdown in the United States. Lawmakers have warned that TikTok’s connection to a China-based company poses risks to user privacy and U.S. data infrastructure.

According to The Information, the existing app – referred to internally as "M" – will be removed from US app stores once the new version is

TikTok may soon see a major change in its US operations, as reports suggest that the company is preparing to launch a redesigned version of its app for American users.

It’s been about five months since a law requiring TikTok to be banned in the United States unless it was sold off by its China-based parent company, ByteDance, technically went into effect.