United States President Donald Trump has announced a new round of trade talks with China, aiming to ease the bitter battle over tariffs between the world’s two largest economies. The meeting, scheduled to take place in London, will be led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who will meet with their Chinese counterparts.
This development comes after a rare leader-to-leader phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which Trump described as having a “very positive conclusion”. The call likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks, although a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain.
The trade talks will mark the second round of negotiations between the two countries since Trump launched his trade war this year, targeting China with levies of up to 145 percent. Beijing struck back with countermeasures of 125 percent. Following talks in Geneva last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the triple-digit tariffs, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China’s to 10 percent.
However, Trump accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides. US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of rare earth minerals, triggering alarm among US companies. Other US concerns include alleged fentanyl trafficking, the status of democratically governed Taiwan, and China’s state-dominated, export-driven economic model.
Trump has previously described Xi as “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH”, but expressed optimism about the upcoming talks, saying “The meeting should go very well”. Xi, on the other hand, asked Trump to “remove the negative measures” that the US has taken against China, alluding to the administration’s decision to revoke the visas of Chinese students studying in the US. With these conditions met, the two nations can straighten their already severe relationships.