• China, US seek to ease renewed trade war fears
• Talks follow rare earth export restrictions by Beijing
• Trump, Xi to meet at APEC summit this month
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China and the United States have agreed to hold another round of trade negotiations next week, marking a renewed effort by the world’s two largest economies to prevent a fresh tariff battle.
Background of Tension
The agreement comes just days after Beijing imposed sweeping controls on its rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. The dispute had earlier cast doubt over Trump’s planned meeting with President Xi Jinping during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
Inside the Call
According to Chinese state media, Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held what was described as “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” via a video call on Saturday morning.
Both sides agreed to hold fresh trade talks “as soon as possible.”
Bessent later confirmed the discussion on social media, describing it as “frank and detailed” and revealing plans for an in-person meeting next week to continue negotiations.
US and G7 Response
Bessent had previously accused China of tightening rare earth exports to destabilise global markets. The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, also joined the virtual discussion.
Hours before the call, Fox News aired an interview with Trump in which he confirmed his meeting with Xi would go ahead.
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is… They forced me to do that,” Trump said, referring to the 100 percent tariff threat.
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Meanwhile, the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers have agreed to coordinate a short-term response to China’s export restrictions and diversify global suppliers.
EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the effort would take years, noting that “the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China.”
Global Reactions
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil expressed hope that the Trump–Xi meeting would help ease the trade conflict, while IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva urged both nations to “cool tensions” for the sake of global stability.
