The United States and China held high-level trade talks in London, England, on the 9th (local time), focusing on export control issues.

According to Bloomberg, the delegations from both countries engaged in discussions for about six hours from around 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. that day before concluding their first day of meetings. The delegations are scheduled to resume negotiations at the same location starting at 10 a.m. on the 10th.

On the U.S. side, Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury; Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce; and Jamieson Greer, representative of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), attended. On the Chinese side, the delegation was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, known as an 'economic expert.'

During the negotiations, the U.S. indicated a willingness to relax certain export controls on technology to China in exchange for a relaxation of China's restrictions on rare earth exports to the U.S.

On the 9th, Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and He Lifeng, the Vice Premier of China, shake hands ahead of trade negotiations held at Lancaster House in London. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

Bloomberg reported, citing negotiation officials, that 'the Trump administration has completed preparations to lift export controls specifically in the semiconductor design software, aircraft engine parts, and chemical and nuclear institutional sectors.'

These items are new regulations introduced by the U.S. to pressure China amid recent trade tensions. Experts predict that the Trump administration is likely to partially ease these measures to secure rare earths from China reliably.

President Trump, asked about the progress of negotiations at a White House event, responded, 'We are doing well with China,' although he noted, 'China is not easy to deal with.'

He went on to say, 'I think we're doing quite well,' adding, 'I'm only hearing positive reports from the negotiation team.'

He also stated, 'We would like to keep the Chinese market open,' while claiming that China treated the U.S. unfairly for a long time, and that no U.S. president had the guts to confront China before he imposed tariffs.

This round of negotiations originated from the controversy over the trade agreement signed by the U.S. and China in May in Geneva, Switzerland.

At that time, the two countries agreed to drastically reduce reciprocal tariffs by 115 percentage points each over a 90-day period. Additionally, China promised to retract non-tariff measures it had implemented in response to reciprocal tariffs announced by the U.S. in early April.

However, the U.S. argued that China violated the agreement, as key mineral and rare earth export controls that China had agreed to retract are still in place.

Conversely, China has reacted against the U.S. for what it views as discriminatory measures regarding export controls announced after the Geneva agreement, demanding precise implementation of the agreement by the U.S.

The U.S. automotive and electronics industries have a high dependence on Chinese rare earth minerals. Ultimately, President Trump decided to hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 5th to push for the high-level trade negotiations in London.