China, US officials to talk trade in London on Monday

United States and Chinese officials will be in London, England on Monday, June 9, to talk about the trade dispute between the two countries. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Thursday, June 5, that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer will be there on America’s side.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said he had a “very good phone call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping “discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, trade deal.”

“The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries,” Trump said.

This was a departure from a previous post Trump made on Wednesday, June 4 where he said that he “likes President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”

According to Reuters, China’s foreign ministry said Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in Britain between June 8 and June 13, and that the first meeting between China and the United States will be during that visit.

Talks to focus on trade

The two countries have been in a trade war since Trump imposed a 145% tariff on goods imported from China, and in response, China put a 125% tariff on American goods. At a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in May, both sides decided to a 90-day period where tariffs were set to 30% on Chinese goods and 10% on American exports. However, higher tariffs could still be reinstated.

In recent months, China and the U.S. have gone back and forth on several issues. These include rare earth minerals, of which China controls 70% of the supply. The Chinese government restricted exports of several of these minerals, though the Associated Press reported that the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a Saturday, June 7 statement that it granted some approvals and “will continue to strengthen the approval of applications that comply with regulations.”

Another sticking point is the Trump administration’s announcement that it will “aggressively revoke” student visas of Chinese citizens studying in the United States if they have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or are studying fields that they call sensitive.

At the Chinese government’s June 4 meeting in Beijing with David Perdue, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, told the U.S. Ambassador that America introduced “regrettable” measures which he said are “infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests.”