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Trade delegations from the United States and China are convening in London for a second consecutive day of negotiations, aiming to stabilize a fragile tariff truce and address export restrictions that have heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The high-level discussions, taking place at the U.K. Foreign Office’s Lancaster House, began on Monday and are scheduled to continue on Tuesday morning. The meeting follows a prior round of talks in Geneva last month and marks the first official session of the China-U.S. Economic and Trade Consultative Mechanism.
Leading the Chinese delegation is Vice Premier He Lifeng, accompanied by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer represent the U.S. side.
A major focus of the negotiations is the export of rare earth elements from China, critical materials used in industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing and defense technology. U.S. officials have accused Beijing of not fully complying with the terms of a May 12 agreement reached in Geneva, which called for a 90-day suspension of most tariffs and a rollback of trade measures imposed since April.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, stated that although China had agreed to release magnets and rare earths, shipments have proceeded more slowly than anticipated. He noted that U.S. companies have raised concerns about the pace of delivery.
The Trump administration views the London talks as a key opportunity to remove export bottlenecks and reestablish a more stable supply chain. “Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,” Hassett said Monday.
In addition to the rare earth dispute, both sides are working through broader issues such as immigration restrictions, Chinese access to advanced U.S. technologies, particularly semiconductors, and the ability of Chinese companies to reach American consumers.
As negotiations with Washington proceed, China is also reinforcing its trade ties elsewhere. It has launched parallel discussions with Japan and South Korea and recently reached an agreement with Canada to normalize diplomatic communications.
Beijing has further proposed establishing a “green channel” to accelerate rare earth exports to the European Union and to streamline the export licensing process. A China-EU summit, set for July, will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Brussels.
On the sidelines of the London meetings, UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves held bilateral talks with both U.S. and Chinese officials on Sunday, using the occasion to engage with counterparts from both delegations.
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