‘Meeting should go very well’: Trump announces new round of US-China trade talks in London next week

US President Donald Trump on Friday (Jun 6) announced that a new round of trade talks with China will happen in London next week. This comes a day after Trump held “a very good” phone call with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping to discuss trade in a bid to end a bitter battle over tariffs.

The upcoming talks will mark the second round of trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies since Trump unleashed a global trade war.

In a post on Truth Social, the president said that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese representatives in London on Monday (Jun 9).

“I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with Representatives of China, with reference to the Trade Deal,” Trump said.

He added, “The meeting should go very well.”

Trump-Xi Jinping call

Following the phone call between Trump and Xi Jinping on Thursday (Jun 5), Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal. The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries. There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products.”

US-China trade tensions

The first round of trade talks between Washington and Beijing was held in Geneva last month. While Trump imposed 10 per cent import duties on most trade allies of the United States, he targeted China with sweeping high tariffs when China refused to back down from the tariff battle.

In April, Trump imposed additional 145 per cent tariffs on many Chinese products, to which China retaliated with countermeasures of 125 per cent, escalating the trade war between the countries.

Following the negotiations last month, Washington and Beijing temporarily brought down tariffs, with the US bringing its trade levies to 30 per cent and China to 10 per cent. However, the temporary halt is expected to end in early August, and last week, Trump accused China of violating the pact.

While Trump’s much-awaited call with Xi Jinping paved the way for high-level trade talks between the countries, a swift resolution to the tariff issue remains uncertain.