Senior US and Chinese economic officials will resume their talks in Stockholm, on Monday, in an attempt to address long -term economic conflicts that constitute a commercial war axis between the two largest economies in the world; In order to extend the truce between them for 3 months and prevent the imposition of customs duties much higher.
Reuters said a source familiar with the talks plans that the negotiations will start on Monday afternoon local time at the Swedish Prime Minister’s office in the center of the capital, Stockholm. Chinese and American national flags were raised in the building on Monday morning. China will face a final deadline next August (August) to reach a permanent agreement on customs tariffs with the administration of US President Donald Trump, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary agreements in May and June last June to end weeks of mutual customs tariffs and restrict rare ground minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains may face renewable turmoil due to the return of American customs duties to triple levels, which may amount to a bilateral trade.
A new truce
The Stockholm talks come in the wake of the largest commercial deal for Trump so far with the European Union on Sunday to impose customs definitions of 15 percent on most of the exports of European Union commodities to the United States, including cars. Similar progress in the American -Chinese talks is not expected, but commercial analysts said that another 90 -day extension of the truce of customs definitions and export controls, which were reached in mid -May, “is likely.” The extension of this deadline will prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. A US Treasury spokesman declined to comment on a report by the South China Morning Post, quoting unnamed sources, saying that the two sides will abstain for another 90 days from imposing new customs definitions, or any other steps that might escalate the trade war.
New definitions
The Trump administration is preparing to impose new sectoral customs tariffs that will affect China within weeks, including semiconductors, medicines, shipping cranes from ships to beach and other products. Trump told reporters on Sunday, before the European Commission President, Ursula von der Line, concluded the customs definitions agreement with the United States: “We are very close to reaching an agreement with China. We have already reached an agreement, but we will see how things will go. ” The Financial Times reported on Monday that the United States suspended the restrictions on technology exports to China to avoid disrupting commercial talks with Beijing, and support Trump’s efforts to secure a meeting with Shi this year. The newspaper added, quoting current and former officials, that the US Department of Industry and Security Office, which supervises export controls, was asked to avoid strict measures towards China. Reuters was unable to verify the report immediately. The White House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to Reuters requests to comment outside working hours.
Soree issues
The previous commercial talks between the United States and China in Geneva and London, during the past May and June, focused on reducing reprisal customs duties between the two countries from high levels, restoring the flow of rare ground minerals that China stopped, and artificial intelligence chips (H20) from Invidia, and other goods stopped by the United States. So far, the talks have not touched on broader economic issues. These issues include US complaints that the state -led China model and depends on export are drowning global markets with cheap commodities, and Beijing complaints that the regulations for exporting US national security for technical goods seek to hinder Chinese growth.
“The Geneva and London stations were only trying to restore relations to its correct path so that, at some point, we could actually negotiate the issues that cause the dispute between the two countries in the first place,” said Scott Kennedy, a Chinese economist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Kennedy added: “I will be surprised if there is an early harvest of some of these matters, but the extension of the escalation of another 90 days seems to be the highest weighting.”
Re -balance
The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent, has already pointed to the extension of the deadline, and said that he wanted China to balance its economy away from exports to the increase in local consumption, a goal that US makers have been seeking for decades. Analysts say that the American -Chinese negotiations are much more complex than those that are taking place with other Asian countries, and will require more time. China’s control of the global market for rare ground minerals and magnetics, used in everything from military equipment to car glass engines, has proven an effective pressure point for American industries.
Trump meeting and Shi
In the background of the talks, speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Shi in late October. Trump said that he would take a decision soon on a “historic trip to China”, and is likely to hinder a new escalation of customs duties and export controls such plans. Sun Qinghao, a researcher at the International Security and Strategy Center at the University of Chenghua in Beijing, said that the Trump and Shi Summit will be an opportunity for the United States to reduce the 20 percent customs duties on Chinese goods related to fentanel. On the other hand, he said that the Chinese side may fulfill its pledge to 2020 to increase its purchases of American agricultural products and other commodities. Sun added: «The future expectations of the president’s summit are very useful for negotiations, Because everyone wants to reach an agreement or pave the way in advance. ” However, analysts said China will probably ask to reduce multi -level American customs duties, which amount to 55 percent on most commodities, and an additional mitigation of the export controls of high American technology. Beijing says that such purchases would help reduce the US trade deficit with China, which reached $ 295.5 billion in 2024.
