Trade talks between the US and China continued into a second day, as the two countries work to reduce tensions over technology shipments and rare earth materials.
Representatives from both nations finished their first day of negotiations in London after more than six hours at Lancaster House, a historic mansion near Buckingham Palace. The talks ended around 8 p.m. London time, and the teams agreed to meet again on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the British capital.
“We are doing well with China. China’s not easy,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “I’m only getting good reports.”
The US team was led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Lutnick’s presence highlighted how important export controls have become in these discussions. He previously served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.
After the first day of meetings, Bessent told reporters in London they had a “good meeting”, and Lutnick called the discussions “fruitful.”
The Chinese team was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, who left the talks without speaking to reporters.
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The US has indicated it might remove restrictions on some technology exports in exchange for China easing limits on rare earth shipments. These rare earth materials are essential for making energy, defence and technology products, including smartphones, fighter jets and nuclear reactor parts. China produces almost 70% of the world’s rare earths.
The Trump administration is considering removing recent restrictions on computer chip design software, jet engine parts, chemicals and nuclear materials, according to people familiar with the talks. Many of these restrictions were put in place in recent weeks as tensions between the countries increased.
However, Trump remained cautious about lifting export restrictions, telling reporters, “We’ll see” when asked about removing such measures.
“China has been ripping off the United States for many years,” the US president said, while adding that “we want to open up China.”
Kevin Hassett, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, provided the clearest signal yet that the US is willing to make concessions. The Trump administration expects that “after the handshake” in London, “any export controls from the US will be eased and the rare earths will be released in volume” by China, Hassett told CNBC on Monday.
But Hassett made clear that the most advanced computer chips would remain restricted. “The very, very high-end Nvidia stuff is not what I’m talking about,” Hassett said, adding that restrictions would not be lifted on the Nvidia H2O chips that are used to train AI services. “I’m talking about possible export controls on other semiconductors, which are also very important to them.”
