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Asahi Shimbun
32 minutes ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
U.S. and China agree to work on extending the tariff pause deadline in trade talks in Stockholm
Swedens prime minister Ulf Kristersson, left, greets U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent, right, and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, second right, outside Rosenbad ahead of trade talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm on July 28. (TT News Agency via AP) STOCKHOLM--The United States and China have agreed to work on extending a deadline for new tariffs on each other after two days of trade talks in Stockholm concluded on Tuesday, according to Beijing's top trade official. The U.S. side says the extension was discussed but not decided. China's international trade representative Li Chenggang said the two sides had 'in-depth, candid and constructive' discussions and agreed to work on extending a pause in tariffs beyond an Aug. 12 deadline for a trade deal. 'Both sides are fully aware the importance of maintaining a stable, healthy China-U.S. economic and trade relations,' Li said, without elaborating how the extension would work. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the talks as a 'very fulsome two days with the Chinese delegation.' He said they touched on U.S. concerns over China's purchase of Iranian oil, supplying Russia with dual-use tech that could be used on the battlefield, and manufacturing goods at a rate beyond what is sustained by global demand. 'We just need to de-risk with certain, strategic industries, whether it's the rare earths, semiconductors, medicines, and we talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship,' Bessent said. He stressed that the U.S. seeks to restore domestic manufacturing, secure purchase agreements of U.S. agricultural and energy products, and reduce trade deficits. The latest round of talks opened Monday in Stockholm to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world's two largest economies. The two sides previously met in Geneva and London to address specific issues — triple-digit tariffs that amounted to a trade embargo and export controls on critical products — China's chokehold on rare earth magnets, and U.S. restrictions on semiconductors. Monday's discussions lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the office of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Before the talks resumed Tuesday, Kristersson met with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast. The talks in Stockholm unfolded as President Donald Trump is mulling plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, a summit that could be a crucial step toward locking in any major agreements between their two countries. 'I would say before the end of the year,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. On his Truth Social media platform, Trump insisted late Monday that he was not 'seeking' a summit with Xi, but may go to China at the Chinese leader's invitation, 'which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!' Bessent told reporters the summit was not discussed in Stockholm but that they did talk about 'the desire of the two presidents for the trade team and the Treasury team to have trade negotiations with our Chinese counterparts.' Greer said the American team would head back to Washington and 'talk to the president about' the extension of the August deadline and see 'whether that's something that he wants to do.' The U.S. has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners — including Britain, Japan and the European Union — since Trump announced earlier in July elevated tariff rates against dozens of countries. China remains perhaps the biggest challenge. 'The Chinese have been very pragmatic,' Greer said in comments posted on social media by his office late Monday. 'We have tensions now, but the fact that we are regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us a good footing for these negotiations.' Many analysts had expected that the Stockholm talks would result in an extension of current tariff levels, which are far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates proposed as the U.S.-China tariff tiff reached a crescendo in April, sending world markets into a temporary tailspin. The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a 90-day pause — which ends Aug. 12 — of those sky-high levels. They currently stand at U.S. tariffs of 30% on Chinese goods, and China's 10% tariff on U.S. products. While China has offered few specifics of its goals in the Stockholm talks, Bessent has suggested that the situation has stabilized to the point that Beijing and Washington can start looking toward longer-term balance between their economies. Since China vaulted into the global trading system more than two decades ago, Washington has sought to press Beijing to encourage more consumption at home and offer greater market access to foreign, including American-made goods. Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump's team would today face challenges from 'a large and confident partner that is more than willing to retaliate against U.S. interests.' Rollover of tariff rates 'should be the easy part,' she said, warning that Beijing has learned lessons since the first Trump administration and 'will not buy into a one-sided deal this time around.' Bessent said the 'overall tone of the meetings was very constructive' while Li said the two sides agreed in Stockholm to keep close contact and to 'communicate with each other in a timely manner on trade and economic issues.' On Monday, police cordoned off a security zone along Stockholm's vast waterfront as rubbernecking tourists and locals sought a glimpse of the top-tier officials through a phalanx of TV news cameras lined up behind metal barriers. Flagpoles at the prime minister's office were festooned with the American and Chinese flags.
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- Business
- GMA Network
US, China finish talks in Stockholm as tariff truce holds for now
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrives at Rosenbad, ahead of the second day of trade talks between the US and China in Stockholm, Sweden July 29, 2025. TT News Agency/ Fredrik Sandberg via REUTERS STOCKHOLM — US and Chinese officials finished two days of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday that were aimed at tackling longstanding economic disputes and stepping back from an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. While announcing no breakthroughs, China's top trade negotiator Li Chenggang said the two sides agreed to push for an extension of a 90-day tariff truce struck in mid-May, without specifying when and for how long such an extension could come into force. The talks could pave the way for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the year, though Trump denied going out of his way to seek one and Chinese officials did not mention it. After months of threatening high tariffs on trading partners, Trump has secured trade deals with the European Union, Japan, and others, but China's powerhouse economy and grip on global rare earth flows make these talks particularly complex. Both sides in May walked back from imposing triple-digit tariffs on each other in what would have amounted to a bilateral trade embargo. But global supply chains and financial markets could face renewed turmoil without an agreement. Underlining the stakes, the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its global growth forecast but flagged a potential rebound in tariff rates as a major risk. — Reuters
Nikkei Asia
12 hours ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
US and China aim to extend tariff truce, Chinese negotiator says
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson greets Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at Rosenbad before trade talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm on July 28. (TT News Agency/Fredrik Sandberg via Reuters) PAK YIU NEW YORK -- The U.S. and China are pushing to extend their tariff truce, the Chinese side said Tuesday after talks in Stockholm ended. Speaking to reporters, Chinese negotiator Li Chenggang said the two sides had in-depth, candid and constructive exchanges on major issues of mutual concern.
The Star
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Biathlete Dahlmeier missing after mountaineering fall in Pakistan, reports say
FILE PHOTO: IBU World Biathlon Championships - Women's 4x6 km Relay - Oestersund, Sweden - March 16, 2019. Laura Dahlmeier of Germany competes. TT News Agency/Robert Henriksson via REUTERS/ File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) -German biathlete and double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier has been at least seriously injured in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, with emergency responders so far unable to reach her, according to media reports on Tuesday citing her management. The accident occurred on Monday when Dahlmeier was hit by a falling rock in the Karakoram, a mountain range in the Kashmir region, the ZDF broadcaster reported. Her management did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters. ZDF said that a helicopter overflight on Tuesday had found no signs of life. Dahlmeier retired from the sport in 2019, aged 25, a year after becoming the first female biathlete to achieve a sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics. (Reporting by Rachel More, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
U.S.-China tariff talks may provide clues on a possible Trump-Xi meeting
Chinese vice prime minister He Lifeng, center, waves as he arrives at Rosenbad before trade talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm, Sweden, July 28, 2025. (TT News Agency via AP) STOCKHOLM--Top trade officials from China and the United States launched a new round of talks on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over tariffs between the world's two biggest national economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting at the offices of Sweden's prime minister for two days of talks, which Bessent has said will likely lead to an extension of current tariff levels. But other possible outcomes will be scrutinized by markets and businesses for signs of a rapprochement, after brinkmanship earlier this year. Analysts say the talks could set the stage for a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. Other issues on the agenda include access of American businesses to the Chinese market; Chinese investment in the U.S.; components of fentanyl made in China that reach U.S. consumers; Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil; and American steps to limit exports of Western technology — like chips that help power artificial intelligence systems. The talks ended for the day after nearly five hours on Monday and were set to reconvene on Tuesday morning. Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that Trump's team would face challenges from 'a large and confident partner that is more than willing to retaliate against U.S. interests.' Rollover of tariff rates 'should be the easy part,' she said, warning that Beijing has learned lessons since the first Trump administration and 'will not buy into a one-sided deal this time around.' 'Beijing is more prepared and will insist on movement on U.S. tech export controls at a minimum — a difficult ask for Washington,' she said, adding that many conversations will take place in the lead-up to any Xi-Trump summit. 'Success is far from guaranteed,' Cutler said. 'There are numerous trip wires that can throw a wrench in this preparatory process.' The U.S.-China trade talks are the third this year, nearly four months after Trump upended global trade with his sweeping tariff proposals, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. China retaliated with tariffs reaching 125% against U.S. goods, sending global financial markets into a temporary tailspin. The Stockholm meeting, following similar talks in Geneva and London, is set to extend a 90-day pause on those tariffs. During the hiatus, U.S. tariffs have been lowered to 30% on Chinese goods, and China set a 10% tariff on U.S. products. The Trump administration, which just completed a deal on tariffs with the European Union, wants to reduce a trade deficit of $904 billion overall last year, including a nearly $300 billion trade deficit with China. China's Commerce Ministry said last week that the 'consultations' would raise shared concerns through the principles of 'mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.' The talks with Beijing are part of a flurry of U.S. trade negotiations set off by Trump's arm-twisting 'Liberation Day' tariffs against dozens of countries. Since then, some talks have borne fruit in reaching deals. Others have not. Without an extension by Aug. 12, the tit-for-tat U.S.-China tariffs could snap back to the triple-digit levels seen before the 90-day pause reached in Geneva. Many other countries — including some developing ones that depend on exports to the U.S. — face a deadline of Friday, as the Trump administration has said that letters will go out beforehand with set rates. Critics say Trump's tariffs penalize Americans by forcing U.S. importers to shoulder the costs or pass them on to consumers through higher prices. On Friday, Trump told reporters that 'we have the confines of a deal with China' — just two days after Bessent told MSNBC that a 'status quo' had been reached between the two sides. While the Chinese side has offered little guidance about the specifics of its aims in Stockholm, Bessent has suggested that the situation has stabilized to the point that China and the U.S. can start looking toward longer-term balance between their economies. For years, since China vaulted into the global trading system about two decades ago, the United States has sought to press leaders in Beijing to encourage more consumption in China and wrest greater market access to foreign-made — including American — goods. Other sticking points in the relationship include overcapacity in China — by far the world's largest manufacturer — and concerns about whether Beijing is doing enough to control chemicals used to make fentanyl, analysts say. In Stockholm, the Chinese will likely demand the removal of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump imposed earlier this year, said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based Stimson Center. Experts say long-term progress in the U.S.-China trade relationship will hinge on structural changes. Those include increased manufacturing in the United States, which is part of Trump's ambition. On the Chinese side, that could involve a reduction of excess Chinese production in many industries, including electric vehicles and steel, and increased Chinese consumer spending to ease imbalances in China's export-driven economy. Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the the talks in Stockholm offer an opportunity for the two governments to address structural reform issues. Businesses will watch for clues about a possible Trump-Xi summit, because any real deal will depend on a meeting between the pair, he said. A deal is possible because 'a lot of the things that the U.S. wants, the Chinese want as well,' Stein said. China, for example, is interested in buying U.S. soybeans and aircraft and parts, and Chinese businesses are interested in investing in U.S. manufacturing — which would help meet Trump's goal of reindustrialization. Bessent has also said the Stockholm talks could address Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil.
