A new round of talks aimed at resolving the trade war between the US and China have started in central London.
A senior US delegation including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has met with Chinese representatives such as Vice Premier He Lifeng at Lancaster House to resolve tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which is threatening global growth.
Chinese exports of rare earths, which are crucial for modern technology, as well as Beijing’s access to US products, including computer chips, are expected to be high on the agenda.
Last month, Washington and Beijing agreed a temporary truce over trade tariffs but each country has since accused the other of breaching the deal.
The new round of negotiations follows a phone call between Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping last week which the US President described as a “very good talk”.
The call – the first between the two leaders since the trade war erupted in February – “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries”, Trump said.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi told Trump that the US should “withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China”.
While last month’s talks in Geneva reduced tariffs, they did not resolve a range of other issues including Chinese exports of rare earth metals and magnets which are essential for manufacturing everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.
Credit: bbc.com
