Top U.S. officials met with Chinese negotiators in the U.K. on Monday to discuss trade tensions and ensure that Beijing will allow the export of key rare earth minerals.
Cameras captured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as they arrived at Lancaster House in London, while China sent in its top trade negotiator, Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said he expects the sit-down “to be a short meeting with a big, strong handshake” around China’s willingness to export rare earth minerals, which are critical to automakers and military equipment manufacturers.
Speaking to CNBC, Mr. Hassett said the U.S. expects that “immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters.”
Wall Street will eagerly await the outcome of the talks as investors seek assurances that President Trump is making progress on his economic agenda and aggressive use of tariffs.
Unlike other countries that came to the negotiating table, China retaliated against Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs by imposing hefty levies on U.S. goods in April, sparking a trade war.
Recent data show exports from China plummeted by 3.4% in May compared to the prior year, dragged down by a drop in the flow of goods to the U.S. during the height of the tariff impasse.
A de-escalation meeting in May knocked down sky-high tariffs from both sides. The U.S. is charging a 30% tariff on Chinese goods, and China is putting a 10% tariff on American goods that cross its borders.
Now, both sides are trying to resolve deeper trade tensions.
“We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” over the weekend. “The administration has been monitoring China’s compliance with the deal, and we hope that this will move forward to have more comprehensive trade talks.”
Beijing wants Washington to drop its tariffs on Chinese goods and export controls on semiconductors, while Washington wants China to open up its markets and correct trade practices it views as unfair.
For years, American leaders have complained that Beijing engages in unfair trade practices that go beyond tariffs, from stealing intellectual property to subsidizing industries that export a flood of cheap products, undercutting producers in other countries.
Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a lengthy call last week, leading to the agreement to meet in London.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.