US, Chinese officials to launch talks in Spain

14/9/2025 12:42

U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Madrid on Sunday to hash over longstanding trade irritants, a looming divestiture deadline for Chinese short video app TikTok and demands by Washington that G7 and European allies impose tariffs on China to halt its purchases of Russian oil.



The talks in the Spanish capital mark the fourth time in four months that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in European cities to try to keep a fractured U.S.-China trade relationship from collapsing under President Donald Trump's tariffs.



The three officials, along with China's top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, last met in Stockholm in July where they agreed in principle to extend for 90 days a trade truce that sharply reduced triple-digit retaliatory tariffs on both sides and restarted the flow of rare-earth minerals from China to the United States. Trump has approved the extension of current U.S. tariff rates on Chinese goods, totaling about 55%, until November 10.