The countries seek to ease tensions after mutual threats of tariffs and strategic restrictions
THE China and the United States they agreed this Saturday, the 18th, to hold a round of trade negotiations next week to avoid a new escalation in the tariff war between the world’s largest economies.
Last week, Beijing announced restrictions on exports of rare earth metals, essential for sectors such as technology and defense, prompting the US president, donald trumpthreatening 100% retaliatory tariffs.
The Republican tycoon also warned of the cancellation of a long-awaited meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea later this month, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
In the latest sign of efforts to resolve the dispute, Chinese state media reported that Vice Prime Minister He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a phone call Saturday morning.
Both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade talks “as soon as possible”.
Bessent has previously accused China of trying to harm the rest of the world by tightening restrictions on rare earths.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the video conference, according to a report by China’s state news agency Xinhua.
Hours before the call, Fox News published excerpts of an interview with Trump in which he said he would meet Xi at the APEC summit. /AFP
Source: Terra

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