For China, TikTok becomes bargaining chip amid tensions with US

The turnaround has raised questions about what China might expect in return, though it has yet to confirm a deal [File: Kiichiro Sato/AP]

China railed for years against the United States’s bid to force the sale of TikTok, once accusing Washington of demonstrating “robbers’ logic” in response to the platform’s success.

Now, Beijing is touting talks on how the video-sharing platform’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, might relinquish ownership of its US operations.