China readies for talks with U.S. on economic, trade consultation mechanism

發佈日期: 2025-06-09 20:04

TVB News

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A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng will sit down at the negotiation table with U.S. representatives in London for a new round of talks to further defuse trade tensions. 

The British government said it is not involved in the talks.

A White House official said the U.S. intends to secure a deal with China on the flow of rare earths.

Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived at 11 Downing Street on Sunday and met with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. It was their second meeting since January.  

He's visit to Britain, running from June 8th to 13th, will include the first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism attended by three senior aides to U.S. President Donald Trump: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 

The talks are due to last at least a day.

While the two sides reached a fragile trade truce in last month's meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, a range of other issues remain unsolved, including U.S. export curbs on semiconductors and artificial intelligence-linked technologies. 

In recent weeks, the flow of rare earths has become a new flashpoint in the Sino-U.S. trade relationship. 

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said in an interview that U.S. negotiators would seek to reach a deal with China at the forthcoming talks in London in a bid to restore the flow of Chinese rare earth metals and magnets to pre-April levels. 

Hassett said those materials are critical for mobile phones and everything else, and they don't want any technical details slowing that down. 

He also claimed a trade deficit was one of the reasons Washington slapped tariffs on Chinese goods and added the Trump administration is reducing inflation and helping lower the deficit by getting revenue from other countries. 

Donald Trump, who spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday, said President Xi had agreed to allow the flow of rare earths and magnets to the U.S., but Beijing hasn't confirmed this.  

In April, authorities announced a raft of export restrictions on key rare earths following Trump's imposition of 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. The curbs led to the shutdown of several car production lines and plants in Europe and sent shock waves to supply chains of semiconductors and military equipment around the globe.

Last week, China's commerce ministry partially lifted those restrictions in response to growing demand driven by industries such as robotics and clean-energy vehicles. 

The easing of export controls suggests a potential recalibration of Beijing's rare earth policy.