Senior U.S. and Chinese envoys to meet for showdown trade talks in London

Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in London on Monday in an effort to resolve a trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.

HONG KONG — Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in London on Monday in an effort to de-escalate the bitter trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies that has roiled the global economy, with China’s restrictions on critical minerals high on the agenda.

The United Kingdom is providing a venue for the discussions but will not be involved in them directly, and the exact time and location of the meeting remain unknown.

“We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody’s interests, so we welcome these talks,” a British government spokesperson said.

The effects of the U.S.-China trade rift are already apparent, with China on Monday reporting a 34.5% decrease in exports to the United States in May — the biggest drop since February 2020, at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, CNBC reported.

Investors were relieved last month when U.S. and Chinese representatives meeting in Geneva said they had reached a preliminary agreement to suspend most of the tit-for-tat tariffs they had imposed on each other’s goods, which had reached as high as 145%. But in recent weeks, both countries have accused each other of violating the agreement.