The attention-grabbing photo of TikTok CEO when Mr. Trump took office

CEO TikTok, a platform restricted by the US for national security reasons, is now seated next to the candidate for intelligence director under Mr. Trump.

According to WSJ, China has suggested a willingness to cooperate with the 47th US President Donald Trump to keep TikTok operating in the country. After taking office, President Trump signed an executive order to delay the TikTok ban for at least 75 days. A day later, the US President said he would agree if billionaire Elon Musk bought a part of TikTok. Previously, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that companies in this country can make their own decisions regarding operations and transactions. This reverses the previous stance of the Chinese government to prevent any forced sale of TikTok. The arrangement of TikTok CEO sitting next to Tulsi Gabbard at President Trump's inauguration also attracted attention. The Verge evaluates this as a strange arrangement considering that Shou Zi Chew is relying on President Trump to help TikTok escape the ban in the US, which was issued based on national security concerns. If approved, Tulsi Gabbard is likely to be an advisor to the President of the United States on such threats. WSJ reveals that the founder of TikTok, Zhang Yiming, has a special connection that could help drive deals like Elon Musk. According to familiar sources, Zhang - the richest person in China and Musk - close to Mr. Trump and also the richest person in the world, spoke to each other in 2024 after the US Congress passed a law banning TikTok in this country. Zhang currently owns 21% of the shares in TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, and controls the majority of the company through additional voting rights. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has repeatedly argued against banning TikTok and maintained positive relations with Chinese officials. Tesla, Musk's electric car company, also has a strong presence in the populous country.