The second day of talks was held today, defined as “very positive”, between the American and Chinese delegation in London. On the table, duties, rare lands and export restrictions.
After a day of talks, almost six hours lasting, today the representatives of the United States and China continued bilateral meetings on the topic of trade. A moment that can certainly be called crucial in the relationships between the two major world economies. It is no coincidence that today the discussions between the two delegations went on throughout the day, continuing also in the late evening.
The talks of these days follow the long phone call among the presidents Donald Trump And XI Jinpingwhich took place last week, with the primary objective of defusing the tensions relating to duties and export controls e Thus preventing a commercial war across the board. A risk strongly increased after the announcement made by Trump in early April of large -scale duties against China. The American goal has been repeated several times: reduce the huge commercial deficit with Beijing.
There is much more, however, so much so that the US delegation was composed of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentfrom the Secretary to Commerce Howard Lutnick and by the representative for trade Jamieson Greer. The Chinese one was led by the vice premier He lifengChinese chief negotiator, flanked by the Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao And by the Deputy Minister of Commerce Li Chengngang. The interviews took place in Lancaster House, a property of the British government in central London.
Intercepted by reporters during a evening break from the interviews, the secretary to trade Lutnick He said: “I think the talks are going a lot, very well. We are spending time, efforts and energy – everyone is at the head down and work in close contact ». Finally, the secretary announced that, if necessary, the two delegations would end their work on Wednesday. Moderately positive words had also been pronounced by the president Donald Trump On Monday when he said that, if it is true that negotiating with “China is not easy”, nevertheless the president was receiving “only good relationships”.
For China, the negotiations held in this Tour de force In London they had the main purpose of reaching a consensual solution regarding the restrictions on sales towards Beijing of software for the production of chips, components for jet engines and etano. On the other hand, the United States expressed their will to obtain confirmation that China will restore The flows of critical mineralsin particular the rare lands (of which Beijing to an almost-monopoly), essential for the American technological and automotive industry.
A point of strong friction concerned the Geneva agreementreached in May, which provided for a temporary reduction of duties for 90 days to encourage dialogue. On that occasion, the US rates on Chinese imports had been cut from 145% to 30%, while Chinese ones on American goods from 125% to 10%.
Following that agreement, both sides accused each other that they have violated the established terms: Washington complains of delays in the Chinese approval of the exports of rare lands, while Beijing criticizes the new restrictions imposed by the USA on visas for Chinese students and on the export of chip. The spokesman for the White House, Karoline Leavitthe underlined that the London interviews focus on the continuation of this agreement, highlighting the mutual strategic interest in their respective markets.
