President Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call Friday as he tries to secure a deal on the social media app TikTok to keep it functioning in the U.S.

The White House confirmed that the call started at 8 a.m. but wouldn’t say when it ended. The official added that any details would be shared by the president.

The call was expected to focus on TikTok and also on trade, as the world’s two biggest economies have been locked in a tariff war.

The president has signaled that he’s open to negotiating and told Fox News Thursday that “we’re very close to deals on all of it.”

“My relationship with China is very good. We have a trade deal with them. We had a very good meeting the other day. And it sounds like they have approved TikTok,” he said.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump formally extended the deadline for a new TikTok ownership deal for a fourth time since taking office in January. The new deadline is mid-December.

Mr. Trump was previously an advocate for the app’s ban but has switched courses after crediting the app with helping him to get a greater share of the youth vote in the 2024 election.

Chinese reports said the countries have reached a “basic framework consensus” on a TikTok deal but criticized the “politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of technology as well as economic and trade matters.”

Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi spoke last in June.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.