WORLD NEWS: US, CHINA BEGIN KEY TRADE TALKS IN LONDON

Chinese Vice Premier, He Lifeng, was again heading the team in London. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the start of the talks.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, are leading the US delegation, President Donald Trump said Friday.

“The meeting should go very well,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News on Sunday: “We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva.”

While the UK government reiterated that it was not involved in the discussions, a spokesperson said: “We are a nation that champions free trade.”

UK authorities “have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody’s interests, so we welcome these talks”, the spokesperson added.

The talks in London come just a few days after Trump and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, finally held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House.

Trump said Thursday’s call reached a “very positive conclusion”.

Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying “correcting the course of the big ship of Sino-US relations requires us to steer well and set the direction”.

Tensions between the two nations have soared, with Trump accusing Beijing of violating a tariff de-escalation deal reached in Geneva in mid-May.

“We need China to comply with their side of the deal. And so that’s what the trade team will be discussing tomorrow,” Leavitt said Sunday.

A key issue will be Beijing’s shipments of rare earths, crucial to a range of goods including electric vehicle batteries and which have been a bone of contention for some time.