China-U.S. trade talks in Madrid head into second day
發佈日期: 2025-09-15 20:58
TVB News
A second day of China-U.S. trade talks has resumed in the Spanish capital of Madrid with a focus on tariffs and other economic topics.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two parties are nearing an agreement on the issue of short-video app TikTok.
This as Beijing stressed its position on TikTok is clear and consistent and that it's determined to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises.
This morning, officials from Beijing and Washington were seen entering the Palacio de Santa Cruz, a baroque building that houses the headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang, and the U.S. side by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
They were welcomed by Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. Talks had centred on TikTok, tariffs and the econmy.
TikTok's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance is facing an imminent deadline to sell the U.S. assets of TikTok to an American buyer on Wednesday to clear national security concerns.
After concluding the first day of the talks that lasted for six hours, Bessent indicated extending the divestment deadline would depend very much on how negotiations go on Monday.
The U.S. had made good progress on technical details with China of the agreement, he said, but deals on other issues remain challenges.
Bessent further noted bilataral relations would not be affected even if a deal was not struck.
Discussions over more complicated issues such as rare earths shipments were extended to tomorrow.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday spoke to the media as he prepared to return to Washington from New Jersey.
He said: "We have talks going on. Scott Bessent is there. Some others, Jamieson is there. And yeah, I think they're going fine."
Trump said Washington may or may not "let TikTok die," "it depends" and that it's "up to China."
He also left open the question regarding tariffs.
Trump said: "We're going to see. But we've hit them very hard in so many other ways. Do you know what they're paying right now? What are they paying right now? Do you know what China's paying right now in tariffs? A lot."
Washington last week added 23 Chinese firms to an "entity list" of businesses that will face restrictions for allegedly acting against U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
State media Xinhua News Agency has condemned such "unilateral and hegemonic" moves. It called for concerted efforts from both sides so as to reach mutually beneficial results through dialogues on an equal footing.
