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Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Business
- Newsweek
TikTok Ban Update: When Donald Trump's Latest Extension Will Expire
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. TikTok will remain online in the United States for at least three more months after President Donald Trump extended the deadline to force a sale of the popular app from its Chinese parent company. The new cutoff date is now September 17, giving users temporary relief from a looming ban. Trump announced Wednesday on Truth Social that he signed an executive order extending the deadline. ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, now has 90 additional days to reach a deal to divest from Chinese ownership. If no deal is finalized by the new deadline, TikTok could be pulled from U.S. app stores or shut down entirely for American users. With TikTok facing increasing pressure from lawmakers over national security concerns, millions of creators and fans have been bracing for potential disruption. The delay means content creators can continue posting, livestreaming, and earning income through the app, at least for the summer. Illustrative image of a person holding a phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of President Donald Trump. Illustrative image of a person holding a phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of President Donald Trump. VCG/VCG via AP Has TikTok Been Banned? TikTok hasn't been banned in the U.S. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law under former President Joe Biden, set a deadline for ByteDance to sell the app or face restrictions. It gave ByteDance until January to comply, but that deadline has now been extended three times. "I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" The act was passed last year due to concerns that China could access American user data through the app. Did Donald Trump Extend the TikTok Ban? This week, Trump signed an order giving TikTok's parent company 90 more days to secure a buyer or restructure in a way that removes Chinese ownership. Without a successful deal, the app could be blocked from operating in the U.S. It also opens the door to possible penalties or shutdowns through app stores and internet services following the September 17 deadline. The latest extension is the third such delay issued by the Trump administration. How Did TikTok Respond? In a statement posted to its website, TikTok said: "We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance's Office." List of Apps to Use as Alternatives to TikTok If TikTok goes dark, creators and viewers still have options to keep sharing and discovering short-form videos. Here are some of the top alternatives: YouTube Shorts : Built into the main YouTube app, Shorts offers a similar vertical video experience with strong monetization tools for creators. : Built into the main YouTube app, Shorts offers a similar vertical video experience with strong monetization tools for creators. Instagram Reels : Instagram's short-form video feature is closely modeled on TikTok and benefits from built-in access to a massive audience. : Instagram's short-form video feature is closely modeled on TikTok and benefits from built-in access to a massive audience. Lemon8 : An official sister app to TikTok, aimed at providing a similar experience to users. : An official sister app to TikTok, aimed at providing a similar experience to users. RedNote : A growing social media platform, particularly popular in China. : A growing social media platform, particularly popular in China. Triller: Launched in 2015, Triller offers editing tools similar to TikTok but has AI integration on the editing platform. Each platform has unique features, and some TikTok creators already cross-post content to expand their reach. For now, TikTok continues to operate normally. The app remains available in the App Store and Google Play, allowing users to continue posting, commenting, and streaming as usual.

IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Full text of keynote speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the second China-Central Asia Summit
City view of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, July 3, 2024. Image: VCG Championing the China-Central Asia Spirit For High-Quality Cooperation in the Region Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the Second China-Central Asia Summit Astana, June 17, 2025 Your Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, I am delighted to join you at the second China-Central Asia Summit in the beautiful city of Astana. I'd like to thank President Tokayev and the government of Kazakhstan for the gracious hospitality and thoughtful arrangement. During our meeting in Xi'an two years ago, we jointly outlined the Xi'an Vision for China-Central Asia cooperation. The six pomegranate trees we planted together are in full bloom today, auguring the vitality of the cooperation among the six nations. Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have further deepened and substantiated Belt and Road cooperation. Our trade has grown by 35 percent, and we have made important progress in industrial investment, green mining, technological innovation, and other fields of cooperation. The package of projects with Chinese financial support are well underway. While more and more Chinese new energy vehicles and photovoltaic products are entering Central Asian markets, Central Asian agricultural products, including honey, fruits, wheat and poultry, are diversifying the dinner tables of Chinese families. Two years on, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has been officially launched. We are making steady progress in planning for the third railway link between China and Kazakhstan, in phase-II restoration of the China-Tajikistan highway, and in China-Turkmenistan energy cooperation. Freight train services are connecting more and more Chinese cities to Central Asia. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has been upgraded and expanded. Green industries, digital economy, artificial intelligence, aviation and space are becoming new drivers of our cooperation. Cross-border e-commerce, online education, and other new business models are benefiting more and more people in China and Central Asia. Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have made progress in establishing cultural centres in each other as well as in opening branches of Chinese universities and Luban Workshops. China has made mutual visa-free arrangements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, facilitating more than 1.2 million travels between China and Kazakhstan alone in 2024. Tourism and culture years and art festivals of Central Asian countries are very popular in China. Chinese films and TV dramas, such as Min-Ning Town and To the Wonder, have become great hits in Central Asia. The China-Central Asia train services for cultural tourism have been successfully inaugurated. And today, we will witness the number of sister cities between China and Central Asia reach the milestone of 100 pairs. Two years on, we have launched 13 ministerial cooperation platforms under the China-Central Asia mechanism. The Secretariat is fully functioning, and the core framework of the mechanism is largely in place. I am pleased to see that our consensus at the first Summit has been implemented across the board – from the millennium-old Xi'an to Astana "the pearl of the steppe," from the coast of the Yellow Sea to the shores of the Caspian Sea, from the Tianshan Mountain Range to the Pamir Plateau. The path of our cooperation is steadily widening, and our friendship is blooming ever more brightly. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Our cooperation is rooted in more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, cemented by solidarity and mutual trust cultivated through more than three decades of diplomatic ties, and taken forward via openness and win-win cooperation of the new era. Building on our collective efforts over the years, we have forged a China-Central Asia Spirit of "mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit,and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development." — We practice mutual respect and treat each other as equals. All countries, big or small, are equal. We handle issues through consultation and make decisions by consensus. — We seek to deepen mutual trust and enhance mutual support. We firmly support each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity. We do not do anything harmful to the core interests of any party. — We pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and strive for common development. We view each other as priority partners, and share development opportunities together. We accommodate each other's interests, and work to build a win-win and symbiotic relationship. — We help each other in time of need and stand together through thick and thin. We support each other in choosing development paths suitable to our respective national conditions and in taking domestic matters into our own hands. We work together to address various risks and challenges, and uphold regional security and stability. This China-Central Asia Spirit is an important guideline for our endeavor to carry forward friendship and cooperation from generation to generation. We should always uphold it and let it shine forever. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Today, unprecedented changes are unfolding at a faster pace across the globe, thrusting the world into a new state of heightened turbulence and volatility. A strong belief in fairness and justice and an unyielding commitment to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the only way to maintain world peace and achieve common development. There is no winner in tariff wars or trade wars. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism will surely backfire while hurting others. I always maintain that history should move forward, not backward; and the world should be united, not divided. Humanity must not regress to the law of the jungle. Instead, we should build a community with a shared future for mankind. Three years ago, we announced together that we would build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, setting out the goal and direction of our six nations in building consensus, overcoming challenges and pursuing development. We should act on the China-Central Asia Spirit, enhance cooperation with renewed vigor and more practical measures, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and forge ahead toward our goal of a community with a shared future for the region. First, we should stay committed to our fundamental goal of unity, and always trust and support each other. China consistently takes Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. With a firm belief in an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood as well as a strong dedication to amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China interacts with Central Asian countries on the basis of equality and sincerity. We always wish our neighbors well. Today, we will sign together a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation to enshrine the principle of everlasting friendship in the form of law. This is a new landmark in the history of the relations between our six countries and a pioneering initiative in China's diplomatic engagement with its neighbors. It is a milestone for today and a foundation for tomorrow. Second, we should optimize our cooperation framework to make it more results-oriented, more efficient, and more deeply integrated. We have agreed to designate 2025 and 2026 as the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation. We should focus our cooperation on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green mining, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges, and roll out more projects on the ground. We should do our best to get early harvests as soon as possible. China is ready to share with Central Asian countries development experience and latest technological advances, promote connectivity in digital infrastructure, enhance cooperation on artificial intelligence, and foster new quality productive forces. In order to promote relevant cooperation, China has decided to establish three cooperation centers, i.e. on poverty reduction, on education exchange, and on desertification prevention and control, as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade under the China-Central Asia cooperation framework. China will provide a grant of 1.5 billion yuan to Central Asian countries this year to be used in livelihood and development projects high on their agenda. China will also provide 3,000 training opportunities to Central Asian countries in the next two years. Third, we should develop a security framework for peace, tranquility and solidarity. We should step up regional security governance, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly prevent and thwart extreme ideologies, and resolutely fight terrorism, separatism and extremism, so as to maintain peace and stability in our region. China supports Central Asian countries in modernizing their national defense, law enforcement and security capacities. We will do our best to help Central Asian countries combat terrorism and transnational organized crime and safeguard cybersecurity and biosecurity. We will launch more Safe City projects, and conduct more joint exercises and joint training cooperation. Afghanistan is our close neighbor. We should strengthen coordination to help the country boost its development capacity and achieve peace, stability, reconstruction and development at an early date. Fourth, we should cement the bonds of shared vision, mutual understanding and mutual affection between our peoples. China will enhance cooperation between legislatures, political parties, women, youth, media and think tanks with Central Asian countries, conduct in-depth exchange of governance experience, and share experience in green development, poverty reduction and anti-corruption. China is ready to set up more cultural centers, university branches and Luban Workshops in Central Asia, and launch new majors in Central Asian languages in Chinese universities. We will continue to carry out effectively the "China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme" to train more high-caliber talent for Central Asian countries. China supports deepening subnational cooperation with Central Asia. We will make good use of sister-city relations and people-to-people exchanges to nurture heart-to-heart connections at central and subnational levels, between official and non-governmental actors, and from adjacent to broader areas. I hope that the travel-facilitation measures we adopt today will be implemented as soon as possible to help our people visit each other more conveniently, efficiently and frequently like relatives, and in the course help them become ever closer to each other. Fifth, we should uphold a fair and equitable international order and an equal and orderly world structure. China supports Central Asian countries in playing a bigger role in international affairs. We stand ready to work with all parties to defend international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In the strenuous times of war, Chinese and Central Asian peoples supported each other through adversity, and jointly made important contributions to the cause of justice of humanity. We should promote the correct view of history, defend the fruits of the victory of World War II, uphold the U.N.-centered international system, and provide more stability and certainty for world peace and development. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, China is building a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain unwavering in opening up to the outside world, and embrace higher-quality cooperation with Central Asian countries to deepen the integration of interests and achieve common development. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Ancient Chinese philosophy advocates "mutual care and mutual benefit." Similarly, a Central Asian proverb compares harmony and unity to happiness and wealth. China is ready to work with all parties to carry forward the China-Central Asia Spirit, pursue the goal of a community with a shared future, and strive for new progress in China-Central Asia cooperation. Thank you.


The Star
7 days ago
- Climate
- The Star
Wutip forecast to hit Hainan as severe tropical storm on Friday
A resident watches the sea as Typhoon Wutip approaches south China's Hainan Province on June 12, 2025.- VCG HONG KONG: Tropical Storm Wutip is continuing to track toward Hainan Island in southern China, and is expected to make landfall on Friday short of the typhoon-strength intensity previously forecast. Wutip is currently about 155km southeast of Sanya city on Hainan, according to an advisory from Chinese weather authorities. The system is expected to strengthen into a severe tropical storm in the early hours of Friday, fueled by the very warm waters of the South China Sea. After crossing the coast, Wutip is forecast to weaken as it tracks over Hainan, but will re-intensify when it moves into the Gulf of Tonkin due to the warm waters, according to the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The system is then expected to make its second landfall as a severe tropical storm along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces on Saturday, quickly weakening over land, according to the Chinese state weather bureau. Hong Kong has maintained its initial cyclone warning, known as Standby Signal, No. 1. - Bloomberg

IOL News
11-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Xi Jinping, Sassou send congratulatory letters to FOCAC ministerial meeting of coordinators
A floral decoration at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, China. Image: VCG Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso sent congratulatory letters separately to the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, on Wednesday. Noting that the current international situation is marked by changes and turmoil, Xi said China is committed to providing new opportunities for the world with the new achievements of Chinese modernization and offering new impetus to the Global South partners, including Africa, with its huge market. China is ready to negotiate and sign the agreement of the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development to implement the zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines for 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China, Xi said, adding that China will provide more convenience for the least developed countries in Africa to export to China. He said China is ready to work with Africa to deepen the implementation of the 10 partnership actions for modernization, strengthen cooperation in such key areas as green industry, e-commerce and e-payment, science and technology, and artificial intelligence, and enhance cooperation in security, finance and the rule of law to promote high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation. Xi pointed out that openness and cooperation are the right path, and mutual benefit and win-win outcomes meet the aspiration of the people. He said China and Africa working together to advance modernization will strongly promote solidarity and cooperation in the Global South and open up a brighter prospect for the cause of world peace and development. It is hoped that China and Africa will continue to steadily advance the implementation of the Beijing Summit's outcomes, carefully plan the future development of the FOCAC, join hands to build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity, said Xi. Sassou Nguesso said in his letter that strategic and practical cooperation between Africa and China has achieved fruitful results since the Beijing Summit. Noting that the ministerial meeting coincides with the 25th anniversary of the FOCAC's establishment, Sassou Nguesso said he will spare no effort and work with President Xi to promote greater progress in building a community with a shared future between Africa and China and enhance the well-being of the people on both sides. As the African co-chair of the FOCAC, the Republic of the Congo is willing to work with China and other countries in the Global South to strengthen cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly build a multipolar world free from unilateralism and protectionism, and usher in a new era of inclusive and mutually beneficial globalization, Sassou Nguesso added.


Canada Standard
06-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Premier Li: Development of China, Canada is opportunity, not threat
National flags of China (right) and Canada. /VCG Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Friday that the development of China and Canada represents an opportunity, not a threat, to each other. "The two countries do not have fundamental conflicts of interest, but rather share a tradition of friendship and mutual benefit," Li told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a phone call. Li said that Canada was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the bilateral relationship was at the forefront of China's ties with Western nations for a long time. However, in recent years, the relationship has suffered serious difficulties due to unnecessary disruptions, he added. Li expressed hope that the Canadian side will work with China in the same direction, view China's development in an objective and rational way, and jointly promote prosperity for mutual success. China is willing to work with Canada, in the spirit of looking to the future, to promote the steady improvement of bilateral relations, bring them onto a track of sound and steady development, and strive for win-win cooperation, said Li. Looking ahead, there is enormous potential for China-Canada cooperation as the two economies are highly complementary, said Li, urging both sides to deepen cooperation in traditional areas, expand collaboration in emerging fields such as clean energy, climate change and scientific and technological innovation, and strengthen people-to-people as well as economic and trade exchanges. Li called on both governments to listen to their people, respond to their concerns, and do more to enhance bilateral friendly cooperation and increase mutual understanding and trust. China is willing to work with Canada, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, to seek and expand common ground while shelving and narrowing differences, strengthen exchanges and dialogue in various fields, and address each other's concerns appropriately, Li said. Noting that the current international situation is intertwined with turmoil, and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, Li said China is ready to work with Canada to jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, promote economic globalization and the multilateral trading system to develop in the right direction, and inject more stability into world peace and development. For his part, Carney said that Canada and China have a profound traditional friendship and China is Canada's second-largest trading partner. While bilateral relations have experienced some setbacks in recent years, he said, Canada is ready to restart its relationship with China. The Canadian side looks forward to resuming high-level exchanges and dialogue mechanisms in areas such as diplomacy and economic and trade with China, and strengthening pragmatic cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy and environmental protection, he added. In the face of the current international landscape, Canada is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China, jointly safeguard the international financial and trading system, and contribute to promoting global sustainable development, Carney said. (With input from Xinhua) Source: CGTN