September 17, 2025

(Preview) A TikTok ‘Framework’ and Lots of Questions; Nvidia Uncertainty and Chip Countermeasures; The PRC Propaganda Strategy on US Platforms

16 minutes

On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with the news of a “framework,” a consensus, and a possible deal to divest TikTok US from its parent company, ByteDance. Topics include: The many details yet to be resolved publicly, the unknown fate of the algorithm and its legal implications, messaging from both the US and PRC delegations in Madrid, the ways in which a deal would benefit ByteDance, and the deflating path from April 2024 to this week. From there: The SAMR shares its findings in the Nvidia antitrust investigation, the PRC announces two additional responses to US chip pressure, and the US adds 23 PRC firms to the entity list. Then: Meta has its own China dependence, an AP report on US firms enabling the PRC surveillance state, and a look at the evolving methods of the CPC and its propaganda network. At the end: LeBron James' camp offers a clarification on last week's People's Daily article, and PRC pigeon racing hits the Washington Post.

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Bill Bishop is the author of Sinocism

To email the show: [email protected]

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

US-China Madrid talks; TikTok "framework" deal; Nvidia and chips investigations; Wang Yi in Poland; Pre-made meals scandal — Sinocism

Bessent says TikTok ban threat won framework agreement with Chinese — Reuters

Beijing says TikTok’s US app will use Chinese algorithm — Financial Times

Trump’s willingness to let TikTok ‘go dark’ motivated China to make deal, Bessent says — CNBC

U.S. Reaches Outline of TikTok Deal With China — Wall Street Journal

U.S. Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China — Wall Street Journal

China’s Message on Nvidia: We Have Leverage Too — Wall Street Journal

China launches discrimination and dumping probes into US chips ahead of trade talks — Reuters

Thread from Chris McGuire — Chris McGuire on X

Meta struggles to decouple from Chinese supplier of AI smart glasses — Financial Times

Silicon Valley enabled brutal mass detention and surveillance in China, internal documents show — AP

"No speed. No ability. Can't tell stories". Why China is turning to 'media studios' to revive its propaganda — Too Simple, Sometimes Naive

Lakers star LeBron James did not write article that carried his name in Chinese paper: Sources — The Athletic

The Pigeon Heist — Washington Post

Their Racing Pigeons Caught a Bullet Train. Then the Authorities Caught Up. — New York Times

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By Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop

4.5

2020 ratings