US and Chinese trade negotiators to meet in London

The National

2 days ago

The US and China will hold talks in London on Monday in an attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are to lead the delegation from Washington.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who led his country's negotiating team in Geneva in May, is also at the head of Beijing's team in London.
"The meeting should go very well," US President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Sunday that "we want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva".
While the government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has repeated it is not involved in the content of the discussions, a representative said: "We are a nation that champions free trade."
UK authorities "have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks", the representative added.
The talks in London come a matter of days after Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first publicly announced phone call since the Republican returned to the White House. Mr Trump said the call, which took place on Thursday, reached a "very positive conclusion".
Mr Xi was quoted by state-run news agency Xinhua as saying that "correcting the course of the big ship of Sino-US relations requires us to steer well and set the direction".
The call came after tensions between the countries had soared, with Mr Trump accusing Beijing of breaching a tariff de-escalation deal reached in Geneva in May. "We need China to comply with their side of the deal. And so that's what the trade team will be discussing" in London, Ms Leavitt said.
In April, Mr Trump introduced sweeping worldwide tariffs that hit China hardest. At one point, the US imposed levies on China of 145 per cent, as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 per cent.
After two days of talks in Switzerland, the two sides agreed to reduce their tariffs for 90 days. But differences over certain issues have persisted, including China's restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals used in tech products.
The impact of the tariffs was reflected in the latest official export data released on Monday in Beijing. Exports to the US fell by 12.7 per cent in May, with China shipping $28.8 billion worth in goods. This was down from $33 billion in April, China's General Administration of Customs has said.
Throughout talks with the US, China has opened discussions with other trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, in an effort to build a united front to counter Mr Trump's tariffs.
On Thursday, Beijing turned to Canada, with the two sides agreeing to regularise channels of communication after a period of strained ties. China is expected to host a summit with the EU in July, marking 50 years since Beijing and Brussels established diplomatic ties.