China vice premier to meet US delegation for trade talks: Beijing
BEIJING: Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (pic) will meet a US delegation for talks next week in Britain, Beijing announced Saturday (June 7) amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers.
He will visit the United Kingdom from June 8 to 13 at the invitation of the British government, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It said He and American representatives will co-chair the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism.
US President Donald Trump had already announced on Friday that a new round of trade talks with China would kick off in London beginning Monday, after he spoke by phone with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a bid to end a bitter battle over tariffs.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team.
The discussions will mark the second round of such negotiations between the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched his trade war shortly after returning to the White House in January.
A first meeting, held in mid-May in Geneva, brought a pause to the US-China trade dispute.
But Trump then accused Beijing of not respecting the terms of the de-escalation agreement.
On Thursday the Republican president finally discussed the issues with Xi for the first time since the trade tensions soared, assuring that the conversation had been positive.
Xi for his part told Trump the two should "correct the course" of bilateral relations, according to remarks quoted by official Chinese media. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
41 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
US, Chinese officials exchange barbs at Shanghai event over trade
The US consul general in Shanghai said US-China economic ties have remained unbalanced and non-reciprocal for too long. (EPA Images pic) SHANGHAI : US and Chinese officials traded barbs at a celebration held by a US business chamber in Shanghai on Friday, as the chamber appealed to both countries to provide more certainty to American businesses operating in China. Scott Walker, consul general of US consulate in Shanghai, told a gathering of US businesses aimed at celebrating the 110th anniversary of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai that the US-China economic relationship had been unbalanced and non-reciprocal 'for far too long.' 'We want an end to discriminatory actions and retaliation against US companies in China,' he said. In a speech that directly followed Walker's, Chen Jing, a Shanghai Communist Party official who is also the president of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, countered Walker's view. 'I believe the consul general's view is prejudiced, ungrounded and not aligning with the phone call of our heads of states last night,' he said. The interaction reflects the continued strained relationship between both countries as the trade war continues to simmer. US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke over a long anticipated call on Thursday, confronting weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals. Trump later said they agreed to further talks. It came in the middle of a dispute between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over 'rare earths' minerals that threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration but the deal has not addressed broader concerns that strain the relationship and Trump has accused China of violating the agreement. Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai which counts over 1,000 companies among its membership, told reporters on the sidelines of the event that many companies had put their decision-making on pause due to the uncertainty. 'People are looking for some more definitive, durable statements on both sides that enable businesses to feel more secure,' he said. 'Our number one ask from the two governments is to give us some certainty so that we can plan accordingly.'
Free Malaysia Today
41 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Kyrgyzstan dismantles Central Asia's tallest Lenin statue
Monuments to Vladimir Lenin are prevalent in the vast majority of cities in Kyrgyzstan. (EPA Images pic) BISHKEK : Russian ally Kyrgyzstan today quietly dismantled Central Asia's tallest monument to Vladimir Lenin, the revolutionary founder of the Soviet Union. Ex-Soviet states across the region are seeking to strengthen their national identities, renaming cities that have Russian-sounding names and replacing statues to Soviet figures with local and national heroes. Russia, which has military bases in Kyrgyzstan, is striving to maintain its influence there in the face of competition from China and the west and amid its invasion of Ukraine. Officials in the city of Osh – where the 23m-high monument stood on the central square – warned against 'politicising' the decision to 'relocate' it. Osh is the second largest city in the landlocked mountainous country. The figure was quietly taken down overnight and is set to be 'relocated', Osh officials said. The decision 'should not be politicised', city hall said, pointing to several other instances in Russia 'where Lenin monuments have also been dismantled or relocated'. 'This is a common practice aimed at improving the architectural and aesthetic appearance of cities,' it said in a statement. Despite some attempts to de-Sovietise the region, memorials and statues to Soviet figures are common across the region, with monuments to Lenin prevalent in the vast majority of cities in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan was annexed and incorporated into the Russian empire in the 19th century and then became part of the Soviet Union following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. It gained independence with the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
Free Malaysia Today
41 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Musk deletes post claiming Trump ‘in the Epstein files'
Donald Trump's relationship with Elon Musk imploded within days. (AFP pic) WASHINGTON : Tech billionaire Elon Musk has deleted an explosive allegation linking Donald Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that he posted on social media during a vicious public fallout with the US president this week. Musk – who just exited his role as a top White House adviser – alleged on Thursday that the Republican leader is featured in unreleased government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while he faced sex trafficking charges. The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his 'MAGA' movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes. Trump was named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024. The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,' Musk posted on his social media platform, X as his growing feud with the president boiled over into a spectacularly public row. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public.' Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim. He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' However, he appeared to have deleted both tweets by this morning. Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others. They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself. No official source has ever confirmed that the president appears in any of the as yet unreleased material. Trump knew and socialised with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex. 'Terrific guy,' Trump, who was Epstein's neighbour in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of the financier. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Just last week, Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called department of government efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship imploded within days as Musk described as an 'abomination' a spending bill that, if passed by congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington and riveted social media users alike stunned by the blistering break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful. With real political and economic risks to their row, both then appeared to inch back from the brink yesterday, with Trump telling reporters 'I just wish him well,' and Musk responding on X: 'Likewise.' But the White House denied reports they would talk.
