Fragile Progress: US-China Trade Talks Enter Second Day in London

 

Trade negotiations between the United States and China extended into a second day as officials from both economic powerhouses convened in London, attempting to stabilize a fragile truce in their long-running trade conflict. The meetings, taking place at the historic Lancaster House under the auspices of the UK Foreign Office, followed a previous round of talks held in Geneva last month.

 

Heading the Chinese delegation once again was Vice Premier He Lifeng, supported by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. The United States was represented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

 

“We are doing well with China. China's not easy,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “I'm only getting good reports.”

 

US official Kevin Hassett echoed that optimism, hinting at the potential for a symbolic breakthrough during the talks. "Our expectation is that after the handshake," Hassett said, "any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume." He added that such a gesture could pave the way for addressing “smaller matters” in subsequent negotiations.

 

The background to these discussions is a deeply entrenched trade war that began after President Trump took office, marked by a series of tit-for-tat tariffs that brought the average duty levels on bilateral exports into triple-digit territory. The agreement reached in Geneva temporarily de-escalated tensions, cutting new US tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 30 percent, while Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs dropped from 125 percent to 10 percent. However, that truce has been anything but stable.

 

Recently, Trump accused China of breaching the Geneva agreement. A particularly contentious issue is China's export of rare earth minerals — essential components for a wide range of high-tech products, including electric vehicle batteries. “Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. The term “Liberation Day” refers to the sweeping 10 percent tariffs imposed by Trump on both allies and adversaries, with threats of steeper duties looming.

 

According to Brooks, the US is now pressing China to resume those critical exports, while Beijing is lobbying Washington to ease various other restrictions. "The US wants these shipments to be reinstated, while China wants the US to rethink immigration curbs on students, restrictions on access to advanced technology including microchips, and to make it easier for Chinese tech providers to access US consumers," she explained.

 

Hassett's remarks suggest the Trump administration might be open to relaxing some of the more stringent export controls, particularly those affecting technology. Whether that willingness will translate into concrete concessions remains to be seen, but the extension of talks into a second day indicates that neither side is ready to walk away just yet.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from AP  2025-06-11

 

 

Just words nothing yet.

How will they be able to resolve this without the MASTER deal maker there!

6 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

How will they be able to resolve this without the MASTER deal maker there!

Master TACO'S nightmare.