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President Donald Trump is striking a noticeably softer tone toward China just days after delivering a public address to the nation accusing Beijing of “sinister election meddling.”
The fresh set of accusations levied on July 16 raised new questions about the Trump administration’s posture towards China, especially as it moves to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. while warning against the hostility of the world power against America.
“President Trump just told the nation that China tried to influence the 2020 election and weaken his presidency. During that same year, the intelligence community identified TikTok as a primary vector of CCP influence in the United States,” Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik, who specializes in U.S.–China relations, told Fox News Digital.
“Beijing still controls the algorithm, which means that the very dangers Trump raised persist today,” Sobolik added.
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Trump has long taken a hard line on China, using tariffs, trade pressure and national security warnings to frame Beijing as one of America’s chief adversaries.
In his recent address to the nation, the president accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of running a “sinister” campaign to interfere in U.S. elections and influence Americans and undermine his presidency.
Yet just five days later, on July 21, Trump suggested “China is maybe a little bit different today.” It struck a softer tone that falls more in line with the president’s backing of a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., despite seeking during his first term and at the start of his second to force the app out over national security concerns.
“The CCP hasn’t changed. Xi Jinping hasn’t changed. But President Trump has,” Soblik detailed.
“He’s much more conciliatory toward China in his second term than he was in his first. He risks telegraphing significant weakness to Xi by letting China off the hook.”
Trump downplayed Beijing’s past election interference, suggesting both countries engage in similar tactics and indicating he was more focused on future negotiations than revisiting China’s actions.
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“It took place a long time ago. I think China is maybe a little bit different today than it was then,” Trump conceded.
“But look there, they do things and we do things to them. I’ll be honest — do we do things to them too? It’s not a one-way street, but we’ll be talking to them,” said Trump when speaking about Chinese election meddling days after his “free and fair elections” televised remarks.
Sobolik argued the softened rhetoric could embolden Beijing to continue attempts to influence U.S. politics in the future.
In his first term, Trump sought to ban TikTok, saying it posed a national security risk. Then, during his second term, Trump joined the app, and in recent weeks so have his top cabinet members.
“President Trump has saved TikTok for its millions of American users — yet another promise made, promise kept,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital. “With the new TikTok under the control of U.S. investors, Americans can continue to enjoy TikTok with their data fully protected.”
TikTok’s ownership deal was reconstructed at the beginning of this year to have majority U.S.-ownership while still giving Chinese technology company ByteDance a 19.9% stake – 0.01% below the threshold required under U.S. law.
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While the app is based in the U.S., Sobolik said that TikTok’s algorithm remains under ByteDance’s control via a licensing regime.
“The fact that it’s training on U.S. data stored on servers in America doesn’t change the fundamental reality that a Chinese Communist Party-controlled company still controls the algorithm itself,” said Sobolik. “The administration hasn’t directly addressed the possibility that Beijing could calibrate the app’s algorithm in concerning ways.”
Trump visited China in May for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping on several of the biggest pressure points in the U.S.-China relationship — from trade and Taiwan to AI and human rights. Those meetings appeared to end without firm public breakthroughs.
In his final meeting with Xi at the summit, Trump touted what he called “fantastic trade deals.”
Sobolik said Trump “wants what he’s always wanted with China,” which is a trade deal.
“He needs to think broader and bigger. Economic competition is one part of the larger new cold war that’s playing out between Washington and Beijing,” he said.
Sobolik said Trump is placing too much emphasis on trade while overlooking other important areas of competition with China.
“Xi will have the advantage,” he added.
Trump said Xi will be visiting the U.S. on Sept. 24, with artificial intelligence expected to be a key topic during their talks.
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