Chinese and US trade officials were heading into a second day of meetings in Stockholm on Tuesday to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world's two largest economies.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng made no public comments to reporters following the first day of closed-door discussions, which lasted nearly five hours at the Swedish prime minister’s office on Monday.
Before the talks resumed on Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast.
The United States has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners -including Britain, Japan and the European Union- since President Donald Trump announced “Liberation Day” tariffs against dozens of countries in April.
China remains perhaps the most significant unresolved case.
“The Chinese have been very pragmatic," Greer said in comments posted on social media by his office late on Monday.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of tensions over the years. We have tensions now, but the fact that we are regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us a good footing for these negotiations.”
“Whether there will be a deal or not, I can’t say,” Greer has stated on X.
"Whether there’s room for an extension, I can’t say at this point. But the conversations are constructive and they’re going in the right direction.”
Many analysts expect that the Stockholm talks, at a minimum, will result in an extension of current tariff levels that are far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates as the US-China tariff tiff crescendoed in April, sending world markets into a temporary tailspin.
The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a 90-day pause, which is set to end on August 12.
