China and the United States agreed on Saturday to hold another round of trade talks next week, as the world’s two largest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.
Last week, Beijing announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.
Trump had also threatened to cancel his expected meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
In the latest sign of efforts to resolve their dispute, Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a phone call on Saturday morning, and that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade talks “as soon as possible.”
On social media, Bessent described the call as “frank and detailed” and said they would meet “in person next week to continue our discussions.”
Bessent had previously accused China of trying to harm the rest of the world by tightening restrictions on rare earths, which are critical for everything from smartphones to guided missiles.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the call, according to the Chinese state news agency report. Xinhua.
Hours before the call, fox news published excerpts from an interview with Trump in which he said he would meet Xi at the APEC summit after all.
Trump told the outlet that the 100 percent tariff on products from China was not sustainable.
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number… They forced me to do that,” he said.
Coordinated response
The high-level video call came as Washington worked to bring together Group of Seven finance ministers in response to the latest Chinese export controls.
For now, G7 ministers have agreed to coordinate a short-term response and diversify suppliers, EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.
After the group met this week, Dombrovskis noted that the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning diversification could take years.
“We agreed, both bilaterally with the United States and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The countries will also exchange information on their contacts with their Chinese counterparts as they seek short-term solutions, he added.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters he hopes Trump and Xi’s meeting can help resolve much of the trade conflict between the United States and China.
“We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he added, referring to the group made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva also expressed hope on Friday that a deal would be reached between the countries to cool tensions.
The trade war between the United States and China was reignited this year when Trump promised sweeping tariffs on imports shortly after returning to office.
At one point, tariffs between the United States and China rose to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade while companies waited for a resolution.
The two countries have since reduced their respective taxes, but their truce remains shaky.
