Trump said he made the demand in a phone call at the weekend with the head of Microsoft, which has confirmed that it is in talks to buy TikTok in the United States.

In a blog post published on Sunday, the company said that discussions to acquire the video-sharing app would continue following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Trump.

This came after the president on Friday threatened to ban the app within the United States with administration officials expressing security concerns in recent weeks.

Microsoft said that it was committed to acquiring TikTok “subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States,” adding that the company would ensure that “all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States”.

The company said that it expected talks to end no later than September 15 with TikTok-owner ByteDance. The deal would see Microsoft taking ownership of the platform in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

“Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country,” Microsoft said.

The talks between Microsoft and ByteDance come as geopolitical tensions between China and the United States continue to simmer.