WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are preparing to discuss a possible deal to keep TikTok running in the United States, a move that could also help ease tensions in their long-running trade dispute.

The two leaders are scheduled to speak by phone on September 19 morning in their first known conversation in three months, U.S. officials said. While trade remains central to the agenda, the future of TikTok is also expected to feature prominently. China has not confirmed the call.

A deal would be key for Trump, who faces a January 2025 deadline set by Congress requiring TikTok's U.S. operations to be sold by Chinese owner ByteDance or face a ban. Trump has declined to enforce the law so far, wary of angering the app's millions of American users.

"I like TikTok; it helped get me elected," Trump told reporters on September 18. "TikTok has tremendous value. The United States has that value in its hand because we're the ones that have to approve it."

Reuters has reported that the agreement under discussion would transfer TikTok's U.S. assets to American owners, while still relying on ByteDance's algorithm — an arrangement that worries lawmakers concerned about Beijing's potential influence. China has rejected claims that the app poses a national security threat.

The potential breakthrough comes as Washington and Beijing weigh a larger in-person summit between Trump and Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in South Korea from October 30 to November 1.

Trump said that the U.S. and China were "pretty close to a deal" on broader trade issues. He has raised tariffs to the highest levels in nearly a century, with rates hitting triple digits in April, prompting China to retaliate. Both sides have since struck limited agreements to pause their tariff fight, but disputes remain over rare earths, semiconductors, and aircraft purchases.

The U.S. is also pressing Beijing to curb exports of fentanyl-related chemicals tied to U.S. overdose deaths, while China has accused Washington of distorting the issue.

"Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations," said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington.

An early signal of goodwill came this week when China allowed Wells Fargo banker Chenyue Mao, who had been barred from leaving, to return to the United States.

Despite the friction, China remains America's third-largest trading partner and its most significant source of a goods trade deficit.

"China's effective use of sticks (rare earths) and carrots (TikTok) has turned things heavily in their favor," said Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.