In Madrid, Washington and Beijing are back at the negotiating table — and the stakes could not be higher. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping are navigating a minefield of issues, from stalled tariff talks to Boeing aircraft sales, soybean exports, and rare earth minerals.

But at the heart of it all is one app: TikTok.

Once just a social media craze, TikTok has become the ultimate bargaining chip in the US-China power struggle. The ban deadline has now been extended four times, with Washington calling it a security threat and Beijing insisting it’s a “win-win” symbol of cooperation. The question is no longer simply whether TikTok stays or goes, but whether the world’s two biggest economies can agree on the rules of digital sovereignty.

Our report breaks down nine months of headlines, from Trump’s early outreach to Xi in February, to reports that a future China trip may hinge on jetliners and soybeans. With Europe hosting the latest round of talks in Madrid, the story underscores how far-reaching this rivalry has become.

Watch as NewsHour unpacks the shifting deadlines, the trade manoeuvres, and the political theatre shaping US-China relations today.

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