The US and China will restart trade talks in London on Monday after President Trump and Xi spoke last week.
The two sides have accused each other of breaking a May deal in Geneva to pause tariff hikes above 100%. Trump, after agreeing with Xi to resume critical mineral flows, said he expects the talks to go “very well.”
“We want the rare earths, the magnets that are crucial for cell phones and everything else to flow just as they did before the beginning of April, and we don’t want any technical details slowing that down,” Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council at the White House, said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “And that’s clear to them.”
US-China tensions rose this year after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods, triggering retaliation from Beijing. The Geneva deal was meant to ease tariff tensions, but talks stalled as both sides blamed each other.
The US criticized a drop in Chinese exports of rare earth magnets and China pushed back on US curbs targeting AI chips and student visas.
In London, US officials, which include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng. According to a report in Bloomberg on Monday, Lutnick’s presence suggests the US may review some tech restrictions.
The recent Trump-Xi call brought hope if lower tariffs, but investor confidence remains cautious. As of today, the US has only secured one new trade deal — with the UK.