Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials met in Stockholm on Monday for more than five hours of intensive talks aimed at resolving longstanding trade disputes. The goal is to extend a fragile truce by three months, ahead of a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.
U.S. Treasury Chief Scott Bessent led the American delegation, which arrived at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister’s office in central Stockholm, in the early afternoon. China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng was also present, according to video footage from the venue. Negotiators were seen leaving the premises around 8 p.m. local time but did not speak with reporters. Talks are expected to resume Tuesday.
China is facing a looming deadline of August 12 to reach a lasting tariff agreement with the U.S. administration. This follows preliminary deals reached in May and June to halt weeks of tit-for-tat tariffs and Beijing’s suspension of rare earth mineral exports.
Speaking at a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump said, “I’d love to see China open up their country,” hinting at his interest in reaching a broader economic accord.
Without a deal, global supply chains could once again face serious disruption, as U.S. duties on Chinese goods could snap back to triple-digit levels, effectively creating a bilateral trade embargo.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, attending the Stockholm talks, said he wasn’t expecting a major breakthrough just yet. “What I expect is continued monitoring and checking in on the implementation of our agreement thus far, making sure that key critical minerals are flowing between the parties and setting the groundwork for enhanced trade and balanced trade going forward,” he told CNBC.
The meeting comes just a day after the U.S. reached a significant trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15% tariff on most EU goods exported to America.
Trade analysts say a 90-day extension of the truce first agreed in mid-May is likely. As per Reuters, such an extension would help both sides plan for a potential summit between Trump and Xi in late October or early November. The Financial Times has also reported that the U.S. paused certain tech export restrictions on China to keep the door open for negotiations and support Trump’s push for a face-to-face meeting with Xi.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to simmer elsewhere. In Washington, bipartisan U.S. senators are preparing to introduce legislation targeting China’s human rights record, treatment of dissidents, and posture toward Taiwan. These moves could complicate negotiations.
Sources told Reuters that Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is postponing a potential August visit to the U.S. to avoid angering Beijing and possibly derailing the trade discussions. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, and strongly objects to any official contact between Washington and Taipei.
Past trade talks in Geneva and London this May and June focused on de-escalating retaliatory tariffs and restoring supply chains for essential items like rare earth minerals and high-end tech components. Broader structural concerns—such as China’s state-led economic model and U.S. national security-related export controls—remain largely unaddressed so far.
“Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track,” said Scott Kennedy, China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Only then can the real core issues be addressed.”
Bessent has indicated that the U.S. wants China to shift away from an export-heavy growth model and boost domestic consumption—an objective that has long been part of U.S. economic policy toward China.
Analysts agree that talks with China are considerably more complex than negotiations with other Asian economies. China’s dominance in rare earth minerals and magnets—which are crucial to industries ranging from defense to automotive—gives Beijing significant leverage over U.S. supply chains, making progress painstakingly slow but critical.