Commercial dispute settled: USA and China unite in London!

Commercial dispute settled: USA and China unite in London!

representatives of the United States and China have agreed on a general framework for trade talks in London. This was announced on June 11, 2025. The Chinese foreign trade officer Li Chengang and the US trade minister Howard Lutnick expressed optimistically about the agreement, which, however, still has to be approved by the heads of state in Washington and Beijing. US trade officer Jamieson Greer emphasized that the prospects for a collaboration were positive. Li Chengang described the communication between the two sides as professional and open.

The talks that started on Monday in London aim to consolidate the temporary reduction in tariffs. A central point of dispute here is the export of rare earths from China. In April, US President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs of 145 percent against China, whereupon China reacted with counter-tariffs. In May, both countries agreed to reduce tariffs for a period of 90 days.

background to the customs dispute

In the context of these negotiations, the allegations between the two countries have hardened. Since mid-May, tariffs have been reduced to Chinese products from 145 % to 30 % and 125 % to 10 %. Nevertheless, the USA and China accuse each other not to comply with agreements. While the US government claims that China had violated the agreement to reduce tariffs, the Chinese government rejected these allegations as "false accusations".

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has also stated that the United States had issued discriminatory measures, such as restrictions on the sale of AI chips and the cancellation of visas for Chinese students. On the other hand, China is accused of braking the export permits for rare earths, which the USA sees as a further violation.

effects and future conversations

The situation remains tense, but there are also positive signals. US Finance Minister Scott Bessent mentioned a possible phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the meantime, Chinese industries benefit from the customs break, while the shopping manager index for the processing industry is increasing, but remains under the expansion threshold of 50 points.

Another important development is that an appellate court extended the suspension of the judgment of the commercial court, which declared most of the tariffs imposed by Trump as illegal. The negotiation for this case is scheduled for July 31st.

The current developments in the trade conflict between the USA and China show that despite the progress made, a long -term solution is still a long way off. The coming months will be crucial to clarify whether the two business powers are able to overcome their differences and achieve a sustainable agreement.

For detailed information about the current negotiations and political developments, read SPIEGEL . Further analysis on the trade dispute can also be found at Tagesschau .