US and China resume talks in London to prevent trade war

Top officials from the United States and China are set to meet in London in a renewed effort to preserve a delicate agreement on tariffs and prevent a full-scale trade war that has unsettled global markets and raised concerns of a worldwide recession.

This high-stakes meeting, scheduled for Monday, follows last month’s talks in Geneva, where both sides agreed to a 90-day pause on imposing over 100 percent tariffs on each other’s goods. Since then, however, tensions have resurfaced through hostile exchanges.

Representing the US will be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. They will hold discussions with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, at a confidential location in London.

US President Donald Trump, who confirmed the meeting after a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressed optimism online, saying, “The meeting should go very well.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the administration’s commitment to continuing the progress made in Geneva, stating on Sunday, “We want China and the United States to keep moving forward with the agreement.”

Although the UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is not officially involved in the negotiations, a spokesperson welcomed the initiative, noting that  

The London talks follow a phone call last week between Trump and Xi, their first publicly acknowledged conversation since Trump returned to office in January. Trump described the call as ending on a “very positive” note, despite his earlier criticisms that China had breached the Geneva accord and that Xi was “difficult to make deals with.”

Meanwhile, China's President Xi, according to state media outlet Xinhua, stressed the importance of recalibrating the direction of Sino-US ties, comparing the relationship to “steering the big ship.”

The economic toll of the ongoing dispute is already evident. Chinese customs data released Monday showed a dramatic 34.5 percent drop in exports to the US in May compared to the same period last year the steepest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic began.