China kicked off trade talks with United States officials in Madrid on Sunday, Beijing’s state media and the Spanish government said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, will discuss economic and trade issues, as well as TikTok, both sides have confirmed.
“The Chinese and US delegations convened here on Sunday for talks on economic and trade issues,” the official Xinhua news agency said in a report from the Spanish capital.
The Chinese delegation will be in Madrid until Wednesday, Chinese officials have said.
Trade tensions between Beijing and Washington have been on a rollercoaster ride in 2025, with both sides slapping escalating tariffs on each other.
At one point this year tit-for-tat US-China tariffs reached triple digits on both sides, snarling supply chains.
Since then, Washington and Beijing have reached an agreement to de-escalate tensions, temporarily lowering tariffs to 30 percent on the United States’ side and 10 percent on China’s part.
In August, they delayed the threatened reimposition of higher tariffs on each other’s exports for another 90 days — meaning the pause on steeper duties will be in place until November 10.
Top leaders from both countries will also discuss their TikTok dispute during the meetings.
On Friday, China urged the United States to address their dispute concerning the social media platform through dialogue.
The deadline for the popular app to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States is September 17, after US President Donald Trump extended it for the third time.
A federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump’s January inauguration.
Beijing’s commerce ministry on Friday called on Washington to “work with China on the basis of mutual respect and equal consultations, to resolve each other’s concerns through dialogue and find a solution to the problem”, according to a statement.
Separately, the Spanish government said Sunday’s talks kicked off at the Palacio de Santa Cruz, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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© Agence France-Presse
