Top officials from the United States and China will meet in London on Monday for a new round of trade talks aimed at easing tensions that have escalated beyond tariffs into disputes over export controls critical to global supply chains.
The talks follow a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that briefly calmed markets after months of rising pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade actions since his January return to office.
The London meeting will bring together a U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Vice Premier He Lifeng will head the Chinese side.
The talks come just days after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first direct phone call since January 20, in which Xi urged the U.S. to step back from measures that have disrupted the global economy and warned against provocative steps on Taiwan.
While the Chinese summary of the call highlighted Xi’s concerns, Trump described it on social media as ending in “a very positive conclusion,” setting the tone for renewed negotiations. A day later, Trump announced that Xi had agreed to resume rare earth shipments to the U.S., following a Chinese export suspension in April that rattled key industries, including automotive, aerospace, semiconductors, and defence.
That suspension had created new strains just as the two sides had agreed in Switzerland to a 90-day rollback of tariffs that had effectively shut down trade between the world’s two largest economies. U.S. officials have since accused China of failing to act on certain commitments, especially on critical mineral exports.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday that the administration continues to monitor China’s compliance with the Geneva agreement and hopes the London meeting leads to broader talks.
The inclusion of Commerce Secretary Lutnick, who oversees export controls, underscores how central those issues have become. He did not participate in the Geneva discussions.
Markets have responded strongly to signs of de-escalation. The S&P 500 Index, which had dropped nearly 18% following the announcement of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April, has since regained nearly all of its losses, ending just 2% below its mid-February peak.
A significant portion of that rebound came after the Geneva accord.
Despite progress on tariffs, the Geneva deal left broader disagreements unresolved, including those over the fentanyl trade, Taiwan, and structural differences in economic systems. The U.K., which is hosting the London talks, will not participate directly but plans to hold separate meetings with the Chinese delegation later in the week.
