#USChinaTradeTalks 🇺🇸🇨🇳
US–China Trade Talks Resume in London
1. Background & Stakes
Following a 90-day truce struck in Geneva (May 2025)—which reduced U.S. tariffs from 145% to 30%, and China’s from 125% to 10%—tensions are flaring once again. Disputes over semiconductors, rare-earth minerals, and student visas now threaten to unravel fragile progress.
2. Negotiation Teams
U.S.: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and USTR Jamieson Greer
China: Vice Premier He Lifeng
Their mission: push beyond the Geneva truce and tackle long-term friction over tech exports and critical minerals.
3. Core Issues on the Table
🔹 Rare Earths & Export Controls
China—controlling 99% of rare-earth processing—has suspended exports, citing strategic interests. The U.S. wants secure access for its EV, aerospace, and defense industries.
🔹 Technology & Semiconductors
Washington’s broadened bans on AI and firms like Huawei have triggered backlash. London’s goal: stabilize or soften this escalating front.
🔹 Wider Tensions
Topics like Taiwan, student visa curbs, and fentanyl trafficking hover over the talks, complicating purely economic diplomacy.
4. Market Reaction
Markets responded with guarded optimism:
🇺🇸 U.S.: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq – flat to slightly lower
🌏 Asia: Kospi +1.9%, Nikkei +1.1%
🛢️ Oil: Brent holds at ~$66/barrel, buoyed by hopes of a trade thaw