US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng made no public comments to reporters after the first day of talks that lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the Swedish prime minister's office Monday

Before the talks resumed Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast

The United States has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners  including Britain, Japan and the European Union  since President Donald Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs against dozens of countries in April. China remains perhaps the biggest unresolved case

The Chinese have been very pragmatic," Greer said in comments posted on social media by his office late Monday. Obviously we've had a lot of tensions over the years. We have tensions now, but the fact that we are regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us a good footing for these negotiations. Many analysts expect that the Stockholm talks, at a minimum, will result in an extension of current tariff levels that are far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates as the US-China tariff tiff crescended in April, sending world markets into a temporary tailspin

Other issues on the agenda include access of American businesses to the Chinese market; Chinese investment in the U.S.; components of fentanyl made in China that reach US consumers; Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil; and American steps to limit exports of Western technology, like chips that help power artificial intelligence systems

Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that Trump's team would face challenges from a large and confident partner that is more than willing to retaliate against US interests