From June 9 to 10, 2025, China and the United States held the first meeting of the economic and trade consultation mechanism in London, aiming to further extend the results of the Geneva talks in May. The main topics of negotiation included: China's restrictions on rare earths, and the U.S. restrictions on China's exports of advanced technology products such as high-end chips and aircraft engines.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in April, China's exports to the United States amounted to $33.024 billion, down from $41.8196 billion in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 21%; imports from the U.S. in April were $12.566 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 13.8%. The result of the trade war is to kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of one's own.
On June 10, Li Chenggang, China's international trade negotiation representative and vice minister of commerce, stated that after two days of negotiations, the Chinese and U.S. teams have reached a framework agreement in principle. Although the specific content has not yet been fully announced, there are indications that the agreement is expected to lift some of the recent U.S. export restrictions in exchange for China's relaxation of rare earth exports.
If China and the U.S. can achieve the expected results, in the short term, it will alleviate the tension in the supply chain of the U.S. manufacturing industry, especially in sectors such as automotive, electronics, and defense; tariff reductions will help lower consumer costs and ease inflationary pressures. However, the deep-rooted contradictions between China and the U.S. still require ongoing observation.