The United States and China will begin a new round of trade negotiations on Monday, with rising expectations that the world’s two largest economies could agree to extend their 90-day trade war truce.
Talks in Sweden will be led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng. The meetings come just hours after US President Donald Trump announced a framework tariff agreement with the European Union.
The current truce, which temporarily lowered tariffs between the US and China, is set to expire on 12 August. Earlier this year, both nations had raised import duties on each other to over 100 percent.
The pause followed meetings between senior officials in Geneva and London. Bessent recently described discussions with China as being “in a very good place,” suggesting a second truce is within reach. Reports from the South China Morning Post indicate both sides are expected to extend the agreement by another three months.
The renewed talks come amid a series of trade deals struck by Washington. In the past week, the US finalized agreements with the EU and Japan, with Tokyo committing to invest $550 billion in the US and facing a 15 percent tariff on its goods, lower than the previously threatened 25 percent. Deals with the UK, Indonesia, and Vietnam have also been concluded, with Britain securing the lowest US tariff rate at 10 percent.
While a comprehensive US-China breakthrough is unlikely this week, hopes remain high that an extended truce will prevent fresh disruptions to global trade.
