China and the United States reach an "implementation framework" in London negotiations

Caijing New Media     2025-06-11     17:41:00

Officials from China and the United States announced a "framework agreement" to ease trade tensions after two days of negotiations in London. Photo by Jin Yan.

According to China News Network, on June 11, Li Chenggang, International Trade Negotiation Representative and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China said that at the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, the two sides had professional, rational, in-depth and candid communication. In principle, the two sides reached a framework for implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state on June 5 and the consensus reached in the Geneva talks. The progress made in the London talks will help further enhance trust between China and the United States, further promote the stable and healthy development of China-US economic and trade relations, and inject positive energy into the development of the global economy.

After two days of talks in London, Chinese and American officials said they had reached a "framework agreement" to ease economic tensions, extending the trade truce reached last month by the world's two largest economies. Senior Chinese and American economic officials are now expected to submit the new framework to the two countries' leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Trump, for final approval.

At the end of the U.S. stock market on Tuesday, June 10, Eastern Time, U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick mentioned the China-U.S. talks in his speech, which was considered to be a good thing for the smooth negotiations. The U.S. stock market rose in response, and the overall gains of popular Chinese stocks expanded. The China-U.S. trade negotiations have attracted close attention from global investors. The two major U.S. stock indexes, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, accelerated their rise and both hit new highs in late trading. The S&P rose more than 0.6%, and the Nasdaq rose more than 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's intraday gains expanded to more than 110 points, approaching the daily high set in midday trading.

Media reports said that on June 9, Chinese and American delegations began trade negotiations in London, England, at Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace. The talks in London were held at the urging of the Trump administration to consolidate relevant commitments made during the Geneva trade negotiations last month.

The U.S. delegation was led by Treasury Secretary Jeff Bessant and included Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Trade Representative Greer. The Chinese delegation was led by Politburo member and Vice Premier He Lifeng and included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Minister Li Chenggang.

The United States and China have eased trade tensions and reached a preliminary agreement on how to implement the consensus reached by the two sides in Geneva, according to negotiators from both sides. Although the full details of the agreement were not immediately released, US negotiators said they "absolutely expect" that issues surrounding the transportation of rare earth minerals and magnets will be resolved through the implementation of the framework. U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said the discussions also focused on ensuring compliance with the agreement reached in Geneva on rare earth mineral exports and tariffs. He said the two sides will continue to maintain regular contact and work to resolve economic differences.

The main consumer of the seven rare earths is the automotive industry. Photo by Jin Yan.

A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered that Trump's trade tariffs can remain in place temporarily, allowing Trump to keep one of his signature economic policies in place. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order extending a previous short-term permission for Trump's tariffs after the White House challenged a federal trade court ruling blocking the imposition of the tariffs.

The court found that concerns raised by U.S. officials about ongoing trade negotiations largely outweighed the potential economic harm from Trump's tariffs, which were raised by small businesses challenging the president's tariffs. Still, the court is reviewing a trade court ruling that found Trump exceeded his authority by threatening to impose steep "Liberation Day" tariffs on most of America's major trading partners. The ruling primarily concerns Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs and other tariffs imposed by the president using emergency powers. It has no impact on Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trump's tariffs were briefly blocked by a federal trade court in late May, though the White House immediately appealed the decision. The trade court's ruling was based on a lawsuit filed by several small businesses that argued Trump did not have sufficient grounds to declare an economic emergency and that his tariffs would severely hamper their operations.

At the first meeting between China and the United States held in Switzerland on May 10-11, the two sides agreed to significantly reduce the tariffs imposed on each other, temporarily reduce punitive tariffs within 90 days to buy time to resolve trade issues, and at the same time cancel "non-tariff" trade restrictions such as export controls. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the Chinese and American delegations met in Geneva last month, aiming to rebuild the confidence of both sides in fulfilling the commitments reached in Geneva. The focus of the discussion between the two sides was how to relax China's restrictions on rare earth exports and US controls on semiconductor exports to China. The role of US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, who did not attend the last meeting in Geneva, has therefore attracted more attention.

In this round of consultations, the United States is considering lifting a series of recent restrictions on chip design software, jet engine parts, ethane, and nuclear materials. Most of these measures were introduced in the past few weeks when Sino-US tensions escalated again, on the condition that China relaxes restrictions on rare earth exports.

The United States has tightened restrictions on the export of American products and technologies to China, including software used to make semiconductors, gases such as ethane and butane, and nuclear and aviation parts. U.S. officials have also proposed banning Chinese students from studying in the United States. In response, China has reduced exports of seven rare earth minerals such as dysprosium and terbium used in high-performance magnets, as well as related magnets. When asked about the first day of talks on the 9th, Trump told reporters: "We get along well with China, but China is not an easy opponent to deal with."