Trump Says ‘China’s Not Easy’ As London Trade Talks Stall On Day One — More Negotiations Ahead

The U.S. delegation sounded upbeat about the progress made on the first day of trade talks with China in London. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, was cautiously optimistic as his officials resumed negotiations on Monday. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer led the U.S. side, with the negotiations centering around technology shipments and rare earth minerals.

The U.S. has agreed to remove some restrictions on tech exports if China does the same with rare earth minerals, which are key inputs to a host of industries, such as energy, technology, and defense products.

China wields much clout in rare earth mineral exports, producing 70% of rare earths.

A Bloomberg report said the talks lasted for over six hours at Lancaster House, a 19th-century mansion near Buckingham Palace, and concluded at 8 p.m. London time. The report also said, citing a U.S. official, that the representatives from both nations will meet again on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Talking to reporters, Bessent called it a “good meeting,” while Lutnick echoed the sentiment, referring to the discussions as “fruitful.”

President Trump also said, “I’m only getting good reports.” 

“We are doing well with China. China’s not easy,” he said while speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday.

However, the president was non-committal when asked whether the U.S. would remove the recent curbs on chip design software, jet engine, chemicals, and nuclear materials. 

“We’ll see,” the president said, adding, “China has been ripping off the United States for many years… we want to open up China.”

However, the head of the White House’s National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, reportedly told CNBC on Monday that “after the handshake,” any export controls from the U.S. “will be eased and the rare earths will be released in volume.”

The Chinese delegation comprised Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Secretary Wang Wentao and trade representative Li Chenggang. The Bloomberg report said He left the meeting without talking to the media.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up about 2.6% for the year, and the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) has gained about 18.50%. 

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