The second round of trade talks between the United States and China began in London on the 10th, with both sides hoping to achieve a breakthrough on export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors. Senior White House officials have stated that US President Trump will ease restrictions on chip sales to China if Beijing agrees to accelerate rare earth exports.
The United States and China held talks at Lancaster House in London to address issues that were not resolved from the previous talks in Geneva.
Reuters reported that the U.S. participants in the talks were U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who did not attend the first round of negotiations in Switzerland last month, also attended the meeting. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng.
The talks on the 9th took place four days after a phone call between the Chinese and US presidents, during which US President Trump said Xi Jinping agreed to reopen China's exports of rare earth and high-strength magnets to the US. The talks lasted several hours on the 9th and are expected to continue on the morning of the 10th.
Reuters reported that China has agreed to provide temporary export clearances to three U.S. automakers.
When asked by the media on the 9th, U.S. President Trump said that the U.S. side "performed very well" in this regard and that China was "difficult to deal with," but he said that he had received "positive news" from London.
“We want to open up the Chinese market,” Trump said. “If we can’t do that, then maybe we can do nothing.”
Central News Agency reported that the talks focused on whether the US and China would ease their respective export controls. The US hopes China will lift restrictions imposed in April on seven rare earth elements, including dysprosium, an essential ingredient for powerful magnets used in high-end manufacturing. China, in turn, urged the US to lift discriminatory export controls on chips.
