President Trump just announced that US and Chinese officials will meet in London on Monday (June 9, 2025) to restart trade negotiations. He made the announcement Friday on Truth Social,
saying Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer will represent the US side.
Trump said the talks will focus on the broader trade deal with China — and it sounds like it’s a big deal.
This announcement came just after a 90-minute phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Trump said the call gave him hope that they might finally make progress after months of tension.
On the Chinese side, Vice Premier He Lifeng will be leading the delegation, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
So… What’s Been Going On?
The last major meeting happened back on May 12 in Geneva, and it was a turning point. Both sides agreed to roll back high tariffs, which was great news for global markets. Stocks jumped, recession fears cooled down, and US consumer confidence shot back up.
But things got tense again not long after.
Last week, Trump blasted China on social media, saying it “TOTALLY VIOLATED” its previous agreement and called President Xi “extremely hard to make a deal with.” He claimed he made a fast deal before to help China out of a bad spot — and now regrets playing "Mr. Nice Guy."
At the core of the conflict is China’s refusal to lift restrictions on rare earth materials, which are critical for making electronics. That move frustrated the US side, especially since they expected those restrictions to be loosened.
In response, the US imposed new restrictions on China — warning American companies against using Huawei’s AI chips, blocking software sales for semiconductor design, and even revoking visas for some Chinese students.
China fired back, accusing the US of “provoking new economic and trade frictions” and said it was creating instability in the relationship.
A Glimmer of Hope?
After the Trump-Xi phone call, tensions seem to be easing a bit. China even started issuing a few rare earth export licenses, though it’s still far from a full reopening.
The upcoming London meeting could be crucial. While the US economy is still growing, there are signs of strain — and no one wants to go back to the kind of economic standoff we saw in April, when trade almost completely froze due to tariffs.
Investors are watching closely too. After Trump posted about the talks, the Dow jumped 450 points, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also saw solid gains.
So yeah — big week ahead. Let’s see if this round of talks can finally break the stalemate. Photo by The White House from Washington, DC, Wikimedia commons.