China State Media Hails US Trade Talks In Stockholm As ‘Positive Signal’ As Trump Weighs Extending Tariff Truce

Trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Stockholm this week were praised by China’s state-run People’s Daily, which called the meeting a “positive signal” that strengthened trust and reflected a shared commitment to resolving trade disputes through dialogue. 

The commentary, published under the pseudonym Zhong Sheng, which is often used to express official foreign policy views, welcomed efforts to extend the current tariff truce by 90 days, calling the move “pragmatic” and beneficial to broader negotiations, Bloomberg reported.

The two-day meeting, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, marked the third round of talks in under three months and concluded on Tuesday.

According to Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, the truce, which has kept tariffs at 30% on goods shipped from China to the U.S., will continue, though no specific duration was announced.

Bessent confirmed that any extension remains subject to U.S. President Donald Trump’s final decision. He said a 90-day continuation is one option and warned that failure to extend could result in tariffs reverting to April 2 levels or another rate determined by the president.

The People’s Daily also urged the U.S. to reduce export restrictions and support two-way trade, noting that American companies stand to benefit from China’s efforts to expand domestic demand and increase imports.

During the talks, Bessent raised U.S. concerns about China’s global industrial overcapacity, purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil, and sales of dual-use technologies to Russia.

He described the overall tone of the meeting as “very constructive” and said the exchange helped clarify China’s long-term economic agenda. Li described the discussions as candid and in-depth, and said both sides would continue “timely exchanges” on economic issues.

The meeting concluded ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline to resolve key differences under the existing 90-day tariff pause first agreed in May. 

Bessent said another round of discussions could take place in the next 90 days, though no meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently planned.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), and ‘neutral’ for the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), with ‘high’ message volume across all three.

So far this year, SPY is up 8.5%, QQQ has gained 11.3%, while MCHI has outperformed both with a 25.8% rise.

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