High-level delegations from the United States and China met in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that has roiled the global economy.
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House, an ornate 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, reports AP.
China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao was also part of Beijing’s delegation.
The talks, which may continue Tuesday, follow negotiations in Geneva in May that brought a temporary respite in the trade war.
Since Geneva, the US and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, visas for Chinese students at American universities, and “rare earth” minerals that are vital to carmakers and other industries.
The Chinese government started requiring producers to obtain a license to export seven rare earth elements in April. Resulting shortages sent automakers worldwide into a tizzy. As stockpiles ran down, some worried they would have to halt production.
Beijing indicated Saturday that it is addressing the concerns, which have come from European companies as well as US firms.
On May 12, the two countries announced they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession.
The US and China are the world’s biggest and second-biggest economies. Chinese trade data shows that exports to the United States fell 35% in May from a year earlier.
President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track.
The British government says it is providing the venue and logistics but is not involved in the talks, and said in a statement, “We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody’s interests, so we welcome these talks.”