US-China Trade Talks in Madrid Amidst Fractured Relations
The United States and China resumed trade negotiations in Madrid on Monday, amid growing tensions over tariffs, energy imports, and the future of TikTok in the US market, reports 24brussels.
Negotiations, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, commenced on Sunday, featuring six hours of discussions at the Santa Cruz Palace. Set to continue through Wednesday, these talks aim to stabilize relations between the two largest global economies after months of escalating tariff disputes.
Tensions have heightened as Washington pressures Beijing regarding its ongoing purchases of Russian oil. President Donald Trump recently urged NATO allies to consider tariffs of up to 100 percent on Chinese imports, asserting that such measures could undermine Moscow’s position. He remarked on Truth Social, “China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
The US administration has already implemented a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods to encourage New Delhi to reduce its Russian oil imports, although no such measures have yet been applied to China. Beijing, for its part, has rejected Washington’s stance, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi stating on Saturday that sanctions against countries purchasing Russian oil would only “complicate” the situation in Ukraine. This reaction followed China’s initiation of two investigations into the US semiconductor sector, a day after Washington added 23 more Chinese entities to its restricted trade list.
The urgency of the talks is compounded by a Wednesday deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the United States. Although Congress passed this measure with bipartisan support last year, Trump has postponed its enforcement three times.
These discussions in Madrid follow previous rounds in Stockholm, London, and Geneva, where both sides had previously agreed to extend a tariff truce. The current agreement caps US tariffs on Chinese goods at 30 percent and Chinese tariffs on US goods at 10 percent, significantly lower than the previously threatened 145 percent.
Analysts are cautious, noting that while neither side appears willing to fully concede, domestic pressures could compel concessions. Heiwai Tang, director of the Asia Global Institute in Hong Kong, remarked, “China has rare earth and the manufacturing capacity that the US needs, while the US has the market that China can’t easily replace with another one.” He predicted it is likely that both nations will reduce tariffs on one another within the next year.
Expectations for the Madrid talks remain modest, yet politically significant. Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, suggested that if an agreement can be reached, it may include a resolution regarding TikTok before the end of Trump’s term. She also indicated that preparations might be underway for a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, potentially at the APEC summit in South Korea in October. “I think there is a strong interest in getting Trump and Xi together in a matter of weeks,” she added.
Author: MK
Source: Al Jazeera
