Chinese, US officials meet for 2nd day of trade talks in Stockholm

AFP | Stockholm

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Chinese and US delegations met for their second day of trade negotiations in Stockholm, with both sides said to be aiming to extend a truce due to end in two weeks' time.

AFP journalists saw officials from both sides, led respectively by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, enter the Swedish government building serving as the talks venue.

Neither side has so far made public any information about what has gone on in the talks, which started on Monday.

The negotiations are happening in the wake of a USEU trade deal struck over the weekend that set US tariffs on most EU imports at 15 percent, but none on US goods going to the EU. The truce between China and the United States, the countries with the worlds two top economies, has temporarily set US duties on Chinese goods at 30 percent, and Chinese levies on US ones at 10 percent.

That accord, reached in Geneva in May, brought down triple-digit tariffs each side had levelled at the other after a trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump spiralled into a tit-for-tat bilateral escalation.

The 90-day truce is meant to end on August 12. But there are indications both delegations want to use the Stockholm talks to push the date back further.

The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported on Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by a further 90 days.