Top economic officials from Washington and Beijing have launched a high-stakes round of trade talks in London, with a senior White House official signalling soon after the start that the US will ease some tech export restrictions on China, adding that he expected the Chinese government to ramp up rare earth mineral exports to American markets.
The Chinese and American delegations – led by China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer – met Monday afternoon, local time, according to Xinhua.
In an interview with American outlet CNBC, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council at the White House, on Monday said that the US expectation was that “immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters.”
Any agreement on rolling back their controls over critical minerals and advanced technologies would mark a turning point in the tense economic and tech competition between the world’s two global powers.
In recent years, Washington has tightly restricted China’s access to cutting-edge US technology in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and manufacturing, citing concerns over the potential use of these innovations in bolstering China’s military capabilities.
When asked about the concerns over China using US technology for military advancement, Hassett added: “It depends, like the very, very high end Nvidia stuff is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about possible export controls on other semiconductors, which are also very important to them”.
