U.S. and China begin talks in Stockholm to avert new wave of tariffs

U.S. and Chinese officials are holding talks in Stockholm on Monday to extend a truce in their trade war, aiming to avert a tariff surge and lay groundwork for a possible Trump-Xi summit.

Senior U.S. and Chinese economic envoys will resume negotiations in Stockholm on Monday, seeking to extend a fragile truce by 90 days in their ongoing trade dispute. The talks come ahead of a 12 August deadline, after which a lapse could see triple-digit tariffs reimposed on bilateral trade, potentially disrupting global supply chains.

The negotiations follow earlier rounds in Geneva and London that halted tit-for-tat tariff escalations and export controls, particularly on rare earth minerals and high-tech products. A further extension would help stabilise commercial ties and pave the way for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

“We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes,” Trump said on Sunday, shortly before finalising a major 15% tariff agreement with the European Union.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury declined to confirm reports of a 90-day freeze on new tariffs and restrictions, though trade analysts say such a pause is likely.

Trump’s administration is preparing new sectoral tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and ship-to-shore cranes, with implementation expected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Beijing continues to call for a rollback of U.S. tariffs—now totalling 55% on many Chinese goods—and a relaxation of tech export restrictions.

Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, “Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement.”

Both sides have yet to engage in deeper discussions over systemic issues, including China’s state-led export model and U.S. national security controls. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for China to shift towards domestic consumption—a longstanding goal of American policymakers.

Talks are also viewed as a stepping stone to a possible Trump-Xi summit in October or November. Sun Chenghao, from Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy, said that such a meeting could address contentious areas like fentanyl-linked tariffs and China’s unmet pledge to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural goods.

The U.S. trade deficit with China stood at $295.5 billion in 2024, according to official data.

Copied