TikTok and other China-related apps will flourish in the US in 2025

TikTok has long faced concerns about its relationship with China, but it just announced a new U.S. venture that aims to continue its operations in the United States. But despite near-banning and intense scrutiny from authorities, short video platforms remained mainstream in 2025.

The app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, was the second most downloaded app in the U.S. on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store combined in 2025, according to data from Sensor Tower, almost defying a ban on the market.

CapCut, another ByteDance app, ranked fourth, with the video editing tool up three spots from a year ago.

Other China-related apps also performed well across U.S. app stores in 2025, according to Sensor Tower data, with major e-commerce players such as Temu and Shein performing well despite being targeted by policy changes.

Temu, which ran a high-profile Super Bowl ad campaign in 2024, fell from the top spot that year, but is still ranked seventh in 2025, despite President Donald Trump’s tariffs upending its business model.

Although Shein did not rank in the top 10 most downloaded apps overall, it was the most downloaded app in the U.S. Apparel Shopping category in 2025.

Separately, as the adoption of generative artificial intelligence continues to grow, OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the most downloaded app in America last year.

Sensor Tower data shows that U.S. consumers continue to prefer Chinese-made apps, which are synonymous with addictive algorithms, affordability, and convenience.

“2025 has shown that these Chinese-originated apps are not just policy arbiters, but adaptive ecosystems with governance functions on both the demand and supply sides,” Liang Chen, professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University, told CNBC.

Until Thursday’s U.S. joint venture announcement, TikTok faced months of uncertainty in 2025. In January, the Supreme Court upheld a law that effectively bans video-sharing apps from U.S. app stores unless ByteDance withdraws from the platform.

The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024, cites the risk of the Chinese government accessing user data for surveillance and influence operations.

TikTok was temporarily shut down in January, but the law was not enforced. After taking office, President Trump repeatedly extended the law’s deadline to negotiate a sale agreement.

The threat of a TikTok ban has also increased attention to Chinese alternative services such as Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote.

Despite the uncertainty, interest in the TikTok app has not only stabilized, but it has also managed to expand its e-commerce business TikTok Shop, which allows users to buy products directly through videos and live streams.

The company announced that under the new joint venture plan, TikTok Global’s U.S. entity will continue to control certain commercial activities, such as e-commerce and advertising.

TikTok’s U.S. revenue, which includes ad revenue, in-app purchases and commerce, rose 26.2% year over year to $13.9 billion, following a 25.7% increase in 2024, according to data from retail consulting firm Coresight.

“TikTok’s success in 2025 shows a path forward to overcome geopolitical headwinds despite the continuing deterioration of US-China relations. It’s a rare case of smart commercial strategy winning over politics,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geotechnology at Eurasia Group.

The app appears ready to close deals with U.S. investors, it said, adding that multiple meetings between President Trump and Mr. Xi are planned for the rest of the year.

TikTok Shop’s competitors Temu and Shein also remained major players in the U.S. last year despite new tariffs and increased government scrutiny of labor practices, supply chains and product safety.

The most notable of these headwinds was the Trump administration’s closing of the “de minimis” trade loophole on May 2, imposing broad tariffs on imports from China. The “de minimis” rule allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free.

Although Shein and Tem moved its headquarters outside of China in recent years, many of its operations and suppliers remain in China.

Analysts said the companies adapted to the tariffs by negotiating lower prices with suppliers, absorbing some of the tax costs and expanding their supply networks outside China, including the United States.

Coresight estimates Shein’s U.S. revenue will increase 16.8% year over year to $14.6 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, Temu’s gross merchandise value increased 21.8% year over year to $27.4 billion.

“The 2025 (policy) shock did not actually eliminate demand. Rather, it proved that these platforms can adapt their logistics, merchant mix and incentive design faster than consumer habits change,” said Singapore Management University’s Cheng.

Analysts said the staying power of apps like TikTok, Temu and Shein stems from their attention-grabbing platforms and algorithms.

“The success of Temu, Shein and TikTok Shop fundamentally reflects a shift in demand generation: a shift from traditional marketing tactics like simple advertising and display campaigns to a continuous attention economy strategy,” said Scott Miller, CEO of e-commerce consulting firm pdPlus.

“This growth shows that U.S. consumers are now discovering products through highly engaging, viral and personalized content, and demand generation is now a function of continued entertainment and digital presence, rather than traditional top-down branding,” he added.

These same algorithms and features are also under intense scrutiny from US regulators. For example, officials have raised national security concerns that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm could be manipulated by the Chinese government.

Regulators have also warned of data privacy and national security risks related to Tem and Shein’s data collection practices.

Despite these concerns, the app continues to capture the attention of U.S. users and shoppers.

“Overall, U.S. consumers don’t really care if an app is affiliated with a particular country, as long as they can find what they want at a good price,” said Yao Jing, an associate professor of supply chain management at the University of Miami.

“(That’s) exactly the competitive advantage of most Chinese apps.”