High-level delegations from the U.S. and China are meeting in London on Monday in an attempt to strengthen a fragile truce in a trade dispute that has harmed the global economy.

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng is scheduled to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, Treasury Secretary Scott Piesen, and Trade Representative Jamison Greer at an undisclosed location in the city. The talks are expected to last at least one day.

These talks come in the wake of negotiations held in Geneva last month, which provided a temporary truce in the trade war. The two countries announced on May 12 that they had agreed to suspend most of the tariffs they imposed on each other, which exceeded 100 percent, in an escalating trade war that raised concerns about a recession.

Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry statements regarding advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, and 'critical rare earth metals' for automotive companies and other industries, as well as Chinese student visas at U.S. universities.
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President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to get relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talks would be held on Monday in London.

Caroline Levitt, a White House spokesperson, told the 'Sunday Morning Futures' program on Fox News on Sunday: 'We want China and the United States to continue to move forward with the agreement reached in Geneva. The U.S. administration is monitoring China's compliance with the agreement, and we hope this will contribute to more comprehensive trade talks.'

The participation of Lutnik, whose agency oversees U.S. export controls, in the London talks indicates the significance of this round of discussions for both sides. Lutnik did not attend the Geneva talks, where the two countries reached a 90-day agreement.

This preliminary agreement sparked a global recovery in stock markets, with U.S. indices recovering most of their losses that were close to bear market levels.

However, this temporary agreement did not address the broader concerns weighing on bilateral relations, from illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan, and U.S. complaints about the state-dominated, export-driven Chinese economic model.

While the UK government will provide a venue for discussions on Monday, it will not be a party to them but will hold separate talks later in the week with the Chinese delegation. The British government stated: 'We are a country that advocates free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is not in anyone's interest, so we welcome these talks.'

But at the same time, Chinese state media reported that Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in London on Sunday. According to a press release from Chinese state television, the two sides exchanged 'in-depth views' on bilateral economic relations and 'issues of mutual interest.'

He said that China and the UK should work together to implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, enhance the implementation of the results of the economic and financial dialogue between China and the UK, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields of economy and finance, promote mutual benefits and win-win outcomes for both sides, and maintain the continuous healthy and stable development of economic relations between China and the UK.

Reeves confirmed that the UK places great importance on cooperation with China and is ready to enhance communication with it to implement the results of the economic and financial dialogue between the two countries, injecting new momentum into their economic cooperation.