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.

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.

President Trump last week announced he’s “pretty much” secured a U.S. buyer for TikTok. And TikTok itself seems to have accepted its fate, as it is reportedly building a U.S.-based version of its app that it will port users to.

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.

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

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

The US version is expected to use its own algorithm, resolving the issue of whether China’s ByteDance will share its crown jewel.