US, China seek to extend trade truce with London talks
After a round of talks in Geneva last month, the United States and China will sit down at the negotiating table in London on Monday to attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade, despite simmering tensions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will lead the US delegation, President Donald Trump announced Friday.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng -- who led Beijing's negotiating team in Geneva -- will also head the team in London, China's foreign ministry announced at the weekend.
'The meeting should go very well,' Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News on Sunday: '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 reiterated that it was not involved in the content of the discussions in any way, a spokesperson 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 spokesperson added.
'Correcting the course'
The talks in London come just a few days after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House.
Trump said the call, which took place on Thursday, had reached a 'very positive conclusion.'
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 world's two biggest economies had soared, with Trump accusing Beijing of violating a tariff de-escalation deal reached in Geneva in mid-May.
'We need China to comply with their side of the deal. And so that's what the trade team will be discussing tomorrow,' Leavitt said Sunday.
In April, Trump introduced sweeping worldwide tariffs that targeted China most heavily.
At one point the United States hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent.
Then in Switzerland, after two days of talks, the two sides agreed to slash their staggeringly high tariffs for 90 days.
But differences have persisted, including over China's restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals used in tech products.
The impact was reflected in the latest official export data released Monday in Beijing.
Exports to the United States fell 12.7 percent on month in May, with China shipping $28.8 billion worth in goods last month.
This is down from $33 billion in April, according to Beijing's General Administration of Customs.
'Green channel'
Throughout its talks with Washington, China also has launched discussions with other trading partners -- including Japan and South Korea -- in a bid to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs.
On Thursday, Beijing turned to Canada, with the two sides agreeing to regularize their channels of communication after a period of strained ties.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also discussed trade and the fentanyl crisis, Ottawa said.
Beijing proposed establishing a 'green channel' to ease the export of rare earths to the European Union, and fast-tracking approval of some export licenses.
That proposal from the commerce ministry in Beijing came after talks on Tuesday between China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
China is expected to host a summit with the EU in July, marking 50 years since Beijing and Brussels established diplomatic ties.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Police detain more than 20 people during Los Angeles protest curfew
LOS ANGELES: Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, officials said Wednesday. But there were fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than on previous nights, and by daybreak, the downtown streets were bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups. Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators after five days of protests, which have mostly been concentrated downtown. Demonstrations have also spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin in Texas, and Chicago and New York, where thousands rallied and more arrests were made. LA's nightly curfew, which the mayor said would remain in effect as long as necessary, covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometers). 'If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue,' Mayor Karen Bass said. The tensions in LA and elsewhere emerged as immigration authorities seek to dramatically increase the number of daily arrests across the country. Bass said the raids spread fear across the city at the behest of the White House. 'We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers,' she told a news conference. 'But when you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you're not trying to keep anyone safe. You're trying to cause fear and panic.' Referring to the protests, she added: 'If you drive a few blocks outside of downtown, you don't know that anything is happening in the city at all.' Some 2,000 National Guard soldiers are in the city, and about half of them have been protecting federal buildings and agents, said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the deployment of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. About 700 Marines will soon join the Guard troops, but they are still undergoing training and will not be mobilized Wednesday, Sherman said. Another 2,000 Guard troops should be on the streets by Thursday, he said. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of drawing a 'military dragnet' across the nation's second-largest city with his escalating use of the National Guard, which Trump activated, along with the Marines, over the objections of city and state leaders. Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents. The assistance includes some guardsmen now standing protectively around agents as they carry out arrests. A judge set a hearing for Thursday, giving the administration several days to continue its activities. The change moves the military closer to engaging in law enforcement actions such as deportations, as Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests would be made by law enforcement. The president posted on the Truth Social platform that the city 'would be burning to the ground' if he had not sent in the military. Meanwhile in New York City, police said they took 86 people into custody during protests in lower Manhattan that lasted into Wednesday morning. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful. A 66-year-old woman in Chicago was injured when she was struck by a car during downtown protests Tuesday evening, police said. Video showed a car speeding down a street where people were protesting. In Texas, where police in Austin used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Texas National Guard troops were 'on standby' in areas where demonstrations are planned. Guard members were sent to San Antonio, but Police Chief William McManus said he had not been told how many troops were deployed or their role ahead of planned protests Wednesday night and Saturday. Authorities announce arrests in protests Two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at police during the LA protests over the weekend face charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. No one was injured by the devices. One of the suspects is a US citizen, and the other overstayed a tourist visa and was in the US illegally, authorities said. 'We are looking at hundreds of people,' US Attorney Bill Essayli said. 'If you took part in these riots and were looking to cause trouble, we will come looking for you.' Trump, Newsom locked in a war of words Trump has called the protesters 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy' and described Los Angeles in dire terms that the governor says is nowhere close to the truth. Newsom called Trump's actions the start of an 'assault' on democracy. 'California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,' he said. The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids. Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action, and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom. Los Angeles police detained 200 people related to the protests throughout the day on Tuesday, including 67 who were occupying a freeway, according to the city's chief. The majority of arrests since the protests began have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting and vandalism. At least seven police officers have been injured.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
UK to trim asylum backlog, saving ‘$1.3 billion a year'
LONDON: Britain's Labour government pledged to cut a backlog in asylum applications and end 'the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers,' saving £1 billion ($1.3 billion) annually, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday. 'Funding that I have provided today ... will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no rights to be here, saving the taxpayer a billion pounds a year,' Reeves said in her Spending Review that sets out Treasury expenditure and savings over the next few years. The number of UK asylum seekers has risen sharply in recent years, with tens of thousands of applications waiting to be decided, according to official figures. Labour, which came to power last July, has set about tackling the situation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has started formal talks with unspecified countries to create 'return centers' outside the UK for those who have exhausted all legal avenues to remain in the country. The number of asylum seekers in the UK tripled to 84,200 in 2024 from an average of 27,500 between 2011 and 2020. In 2022, there were approximately 13 asylum applications per 10,000 people in the UK, compared with 25 applications per 10,000 people in the EU at the same time. Some 11 percent of migrants in the UK were asylum seekers or refugees in 2023 — almost twice as high as the 2019 figure of six percent. The number of people crossing the Channel in makeshift boats, a route that virtually did not exist before 2018, has meanwhile increased sharply in recent years. In 2024, the largest group of asylum seekers hailed from Pakistan, followed by Afghanistan. In previous years, they came mainly from Syria and Iran.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Arab News honored in London on its 50th anniversary
LONDON: To mark the 50th anniversary of Arab News, the Global Arab Network hosted on Friday an event at the Frontline Club featuring a documentary preview and a panel discussion on the newspaper's digital transformation and the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the future of media. Welcoming guests, Ghassan Ibrahim, founder of the London-based Global Arab Network, commended Arab News, saying it has become 'one of the most trusted newspapers in the Middle East.' 'Global Arab Network works to help people from Arab countries and other parts of the world understand each other better. They support projects that connect cultures, support development, and share news and ideas,' he said. 'Their work is similar to what Arab News does — they both want to bring the East and West closer together.' In his address, Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas said: 'We thank the Global Arab Network for hosting this event and presenting the documentary. We hope that the attendees can benefit from the Arab News digital transformation success story as we all brace for an AI-led future' He added: 'For the past 50 years, Arab News has been at the forefront of technology when it comes to news gathering, verification, research and distribution. We vow to continue on this path, and our latest podcast, launched using Google NotebookLM, is a testimony to our commitment.' The Frontline Club event in London was attended by renowned dignitaries, diplomats and journalists including Saudi Editor Othman Al-Omair, Asharq Network's Nabeel Khatib and Al Majalla Editor in Chief, Ibrahim Hamidi. Members of parliament, lecturers from British universities and former ministers and ambassadors were also among the attendees. The event saw a preview of 'Rewriting Arab News,' a short film about the newspaper's relaunch and digital transformation between 2016 and 2018, which was presented by Global Arab Network. The event paid tribute to the brothers Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz, who launched Arab News as Saudi Arabia's first English-language daily newspaper, from a small garage in their hometown, Jeddah, while depicting the publication's growth and milestones in the runup to it relaunch. The evening also discussed how Arab News is consistently launching new initiatives and projects as part of its preparations for an AI-driven future. 'In 2000, less than 7 percent of the world's population was connected to the internet; 25 years later, more than 60 percent of the world is connected to the internet,' Abbas said. 'We are at the brink of an AI revolution that is already happening, and the evolution of the news industry continues. We hope that Arab news can continue this challenge and thrive under this challenge.' Arab News was established in 1975 under the slogan, 'The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily,' to give Arabs a voice in English while documenting the major transformations taking place across the Middle East. In April 2018, Arab News changed its 43-year-old logo with a new one as well as its motto to 'The Voice of a Changing Region.' The newspaper relaunched with a new design and a new approach to stories that it believed was better suited to the internet age. 'Since 1975, Arab News has been the voice of the Arab world and the newspaper of record for Saudi Arabia and the wider region. As this region changes, and as the Arab world faces new challenges and new political, social and economic realities, so must that voice change. And so must Arab News,' the newspaper said in an editorial on April 4. Arab News is marking its 50th anniversary at a shifting moment, as Lebanon and Syria form new governments and the Middle East prepares for a high-level conference on the Palestinian two-state solution, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, in New York this June. 'It's remarkable looking back at history to see the pattern of how history repeats itself, but sometimes it could be a happy ending,' said Abbas. A panel discussion after the screening of the documentary featured Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu); Juan Senor, partner at Innovation Media Consulting Group; and Abbas. 'Like Arab News, tech giants Apple and Google also started in garages — there's something to be said about that,' Doyle said. He praised Arab News for consistently reinventing itself 'not just to keep up with the times, but to stay ahead of them.' In April, Arab News launched its 50th anniversary collection, highlighting key events that shaped the Middle East over the past five decades, alongside the newspaper's own evolution. As part of its digital transformation efforts and complementing the anniversary project, Arab News released a podcast series last month. Produced using Google's AI-powered research tool, NotebookLM, it features artificial hosts and AI-generated voices recounting pivotal moments that defined the region's recent history. Senor said: 'Arab News has consistently set the standard for English-language journalism in the region, offering clarity and credibility at a time when balanced narratives about the Middle East are more important than ever.' He added: 'Arab News has played a crucial role in elevating regional voices that were often overlooked or misrepresented in international discourse — it's journalism with purpose, not just headlines.' As part of the same series of initiatives marking its 50th anniversary, Arab News hosted a special reception and talk last month in collaboration with Google on the opening day of the Arab Media Summit in Dubai in the UAE. During the May 26 reception, Mona Al-Marri, director-general of Dubai Media Office, Government of Dubai, said: 'I hope that all media outlets in our region follow in the steps of Arab News, because this is when you set a good working model for the whole region. … Arab News is leading this transformation.' In a region where over 50 percent of the population is young, she added, 'we should all follow this model.' In his keynote speech at the event, Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, said: 'Let's all agree that how we create and consume media is changing dramatically. Look at the average attention span, which is eight seconds.' He said the disruptive power of AI — from disinformation to audience mistrust — makes the 'human touch' more vital than ever. 'AI may be the hero of the next media chapter, but self-critique, adaptability and editorial responsibility will define its success,' Belhoul said. Arab News, headquartered in Riyadh, has expanded its digital voice by establishing bureaus in London, Pakistan and Dubai, besides editions published in French and Japanese.
