The Trump administration is debating whether to allow Chinese gaming giant Tencent to retain its stakes in major US and Finnish game developers, a decision complicated by an upcoming summit with President Xi Jinping. Tencent holds a 28 per cent stake in Epic Games, the North Carolina-based creator of Fortnite, and owns Riot Games, developer of League of Legends. The Pentagon recently blacklisted Alibaba and BYD but abruptly removed the list, adding uncertainty. Cfius, the Treasury-led panel, is reviewing these investments for potential security risks, particularly concerning data privacy. Officials fear Tencent's access to user data from millions of Americans could serve as an intelligence collection source.

The panel struggled to reach consensus during the Biden administration, with some officials arguing mitigation measures could work, while others deemed the risk too high. The outcome remains unclear as the administration weighs national security against economic interests ahead of the April summit.