USA and China: Commercial meeting in London - hope for breakthrough!

USA and China: Commercial meeting in London - hope for breakthrough!

On Monday, June 8, 2025, the USA and China will meet for new trade talks in London. This was announced by US President Donald Trump and is intended to represent progress in the continuing trade conflict between the two nations. The US delegation is headed by Finance Minister Scott Bessent, Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick and the trade officer Jamieson Greer. Behind this meeting is a phone call between Trump and the Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping, in which the consideration of the subtleties of a trade agreement concluded in May 2025 was agreed.

However, China cautiously commented and asked the United States to comply with the existing agreements. This requirement happened in the context of persistent tensions, since both countries accuse each other of violating the trade agreements. China's Ministry of Commerce rejected the allegations from Washington as "false accusations" and criticized the discriminatory measures of the United States.

background of the trade dispute

The trade conflict between the USA and China has existed since the beginning of 2018 and is characterized by an importing customs policy initiated by the United States. Trump accused China of stealing intellectual property and called for changes in retail to reduce the massive trade deficit of the United States. The balance sheet shows that US exports after China were only $ 130.4 billion in 2017, while imports from China were around $ 505.6 billion. This inequality led to the increase in tensions between the two countries.

In the course of these developments, China reduced the import duties to 200 products. Nevertheless, the relationships would be burdened with up to 145 percent on some Chinese products due to various trade restrictions and the rise of punitive tariffs. In May 2025 there was finally a temporary decline in these customs tariffs, which should not mean the end of the disputes.

Current developments

In addition to the customs negotiations, there are other measures in the focus of the discussion. For example, US measures against the sale of AI chips and chip design software to China and the cancellation of Visa for Chinese students were criticized. These measures could further impair the trade flow and destabilize economic relationships. Tagesschau reports that the shopping manager index has improved for the processing industry in China, but is still below the expansion threshold of 50 points.

With the meeting on Monday, another section is opened in the tense history of trade relationships between the USA and China, while the world observes how the dynamics between the two largest economies will develop.