China, US to seek tariffs truce extension after talks
Vice Premier He Lifeng called on the two sides to deepen dialogue and reduce misunderstandings. Photo: Reuters
Chinese and US officials have agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce, after the latest two-day round of talks to reach a trade deal ahead of an August 12 deadline.
China's international trade representative Li Chenggang said the talks in Stockholm were "candid, in-depth, constructive", according to the Xinhua News Agency.
The two countries exchanged views on major trade and economic concerns, Li said, and are due to maintain close communications.
Xinhua also quoted Vice Premier He Lifeng as saying that the United States should work with China to continue to enhance consensus, reduce misunderstandings, strengthen cooperation, further deepen dialogue and consultations, and strive for more win-win outcomes.
A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US economic and trade relationship serves not only the two countries' respective development goals but also contributes to global economic growth and stability, He said.
US officials, meanwhile, said it was up to President Donald Trump to decide whether to extend a trade truce that expires on August 12 or potentially let tariffs shoot back up to triple-digit figures.
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tamped down any expectation of Trump rejecting the extension.
"The meetings were very constructive," Bessent told reporters after the meetings wrapped up. "It's just that we haven't given the signoff."
As Trump returned to Washington after visiting Scotland, where he inked a trade deal with the European Union, he said Bessent had just briefed him on the China talks.
"He felt very good about the meeting, better than he felt yesterday," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Bessent said there would likely be another meeting between the two sides in about 90 days, and the agreements on the flow of Chinese rare earths were becoming more refined after previous talks in Geneva and London.
"There was good personal interaction being built up, good, mutual respect. I think we understand their agenda much better," he said.
The truce between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, has temporarily set US duties on Chinese goods at 30 percent, and Chinese levies on US ones at 10 percent.
That accord, reached in Geneva in May, brought down the tariffs each side had levelled at the other after Trump embarked on his trade war. (Agencies)
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