U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new round of trade negotiations with China, signaling a possible thaw in the ongoing tariff standoff between the world’s two largest economies.
The talks are scheduled to take place in London on Monday, just days after a rare phone conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to ease rising tensions.
“The meeting should go very well,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
He said the U.S. delegation will include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Chinese delegation’s composition has not yet been publicly disclosed.
This will be the second formal round of negotiations since Trump reignited his trade war with China earlier this year, implementing tariffs as high as 145% on a wide range of Chinese imports. Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 125% on American goods.
Last month, during a round of talks in Geneva, both sides agreed to a temporary reduction in tariffs — the U.S. scaled its duties back to 30%, while China lowered its own to 10%. However, that temporary truce is set to expire in early August, and Trump has recently accused China of backtracking on the agreement, further complicating the diplomatic path forward.
U.S. officials have raised additional concerns, including China’s alleged delay in exporting rare earth minerals — a critical resource for American tech and defense sectors — and the continued trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S. Other contentious issues include Taiwan’s status and China’s state-controlled economic practices.
Despite acknowledging that Xi is “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,” Trump described their phone call on Thursday as ending in a “positive conclusion,” offering a potential opening for further dialogue.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Xi urged Trump to “remove the negative measures” imposed by Washington, referring in part to recent U.S. visa restrictions on Chinese students.
With input from Al Jazeera
