New round of US-China trade talks kicks off in Madrid

China and the United States kicked off the latest round of trade talks on Sunday in Madrid where they are set to thrash out their TikTok dispute and President Donald Trumps promised hefty tariffsThe Chinese delegation is in the Spanish capital until Wednesday and senior officials including Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet with the US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott BessentThe Spanish government said Sundays talks got under way at the Palacio de Santa Cruz the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign AffairsTrade tensions between Beijing and Washington have been on a rollercoaster ride in 2025 with both sides slapping escalating tariffs on each otherTitfortat USChina tariffs reached triple digits on both sides at one point this year snarling supply chainsWashington and Beijing have since reached an agreement to deescalate tensions temporarily lowering tariffs to 30 percent on the United States side and 10 percent on Chinas partIn August they delayed the threatened reimposition of higher tariffs on each others exports for another 90 days meaning the pause on steeper duties will be in place until November 10The Chinese and US delegations convened here on Sunday for talks on economic and trade issues Chinas official Xinhua news agency said in a report from the Spanish capitalTop leaders from both countries will also discuss their dispute over the TikTok social media platform during the meetings in MadridChina urged the United States on Friday to address their dispute through dialogueThe deadline for the popular app to find a nonChinese buyer or be banned in the United States is September 17 after Trump extended it for the third timeA federal law requiring TikToks sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trumps January inaugurationBeijings commerce ministry called on Washington on Friday to work with China on the basis of mutual respect and equal consultations to resolve each others concerns through dialogue and find a solution to the problem according to a statementChina launched two investigations into the US semiconductor sector on SaturdayBeijing opened an antidumping probe into some IC chips originating from the US its commerce ministry said in a statementThe ministry also said in a separate statement it will launch an investigation into whether the United States had discriminated against the Chinese chip sectorSenior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang urged equal dialogue and consultation between China and the United States after a threeday visit to Washington in AugustThe USChina trade truce has been an uneasy one with Washington accusing Beijing of violating their agreement and slowwalking export license approvals for rare earthsChina is the worlds leading producer of rare earths used to make magnets essential to the automotive electronics and defence industriesTop diplomats and defence chiefs from both nations held backtoback discussions on Wednesday which analysts said could mark a step towards a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi JinpingTrump said in August he expects to visit China this year or shortly afterwards noting that economic ties between the two countries have improvedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever