Politics
US, China economic chiefs to meet in Paris to clear path to Trump-Xi summit
- Talks to focus on tariffs, rare earths, high-tech export controls.
- Analysts see little prospect for breakthrough due to Iran war.
- New US trade probes could lead to more tariffs on China.
PARIS: Top US and Chinese economic officials are set to launch a new round of talks in Paris on Sunday to iron out kinks in their trade truce and clear a smooth path for US President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March.
The discussions, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, are expected to focus on shifting US tariffs, the flow of Chinese-produced rare earth minerals and magnets to US buyers, American high-tech export controls and Chinese purchases of US agricultural products.
The two sides will meet at the Paris headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a source familiar with their planning said. China is not a member of the club of 38 mostly wealthy democracies and considers itself a developing country.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also join the talks, which continue a string of meetings in European cities last year aimed at easing tensions that threatened a near collapse of trade between the world’s two largest economies.
US-China trade analysts said that with little time to prepare and Washington’s attention focused on the US-Israeli war with Iran, prospects for a major trade breakthrough are limited, in Paris or at the Beijing summit.
“Both sides, I think have a minimum goal of having a meeting, which sort of keeps things together and avoids a rupture and re-escalation of tensions,” said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Trump may want to come away from Beijing with major Chinese commitments to order new Boeing aircraft and buy more US liquefied natural gas and soybeans, but to get that he may need to offer some concessions on US export controls, Kennedy added.
Instead, Kennedy said chances were high for a summit that “superficially suggests progress but that really just leaves things about where they’ve been for the last four months.”
Trump and Xi could potentially meet three other times this year, including at a China-hosted APEC summit in November and a US-hosted G20 summit in December that could yield more tangible progress.
Iran war and oil concerns
The US-Israeli war on Iran will likely come up at the Paris talks, especially in reference to the spike in oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which China gets 45% of its oil. Bessent on Thursday night announced a 30-day waiver of sanctions to allow the sale of Russian oil stranded at sea in tankers, a move to raise supplies.
On Saturday, Trump urged other nations to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington bombed military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island oil loading hub and Iran threatened to retaliate.
“Meaningful” progress in Sino‑US economic cooperation could restore confidence to an increasingly fragile global economy, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on Sunday.
Trade truce
The two sides are expected to review their progress in meeting commitments under the October 2025 trade truce declared by Trump and Xi in Busan, South Korea. The deal forestalled a major flare-up in tensions, trimmed US tariffs on Chinese imports, and paused for a year China’s draconian export controls on rare earths. It also paused the expansion of a US blacklist of Chinese companies banned from buying high-technology US goods such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
China also agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of US soybeans during the 2025 marketing year and 25 million tons in the 2026 season, which will start with the fall harvest.
US officials, including Bessent, have said that China has so far met its commitments under the Busan deal, citing soybean purchases that met initial goals.
But while some industries are receiving rare earth exports from China, which dominates global production, US aerospace and semiconductor firms are not and are facing worsening shortages of key materials, including yttrium, used in heat-resistant coatings for jet engines.
“US priorities will likely be about agricultural purchases by China and greater access to Chinese rare earths in the short term” at the Paris talks, said William Chou, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.
Trade probes
Greer and Bessent also bring a new irritant to the Paris talks, a new “Section 301” investigation into unfair trade practices targeting China and 15 other major trading partners over alleged excess industrial capacity that could lead to a new round of tariffs within months. Greer also launched a similar probe into alleged forced labour practices in 60 countries, including China, that could ban certain imports into the US
The probes aim to rebuild Trump’s tariff pressure on trading partners after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs under an emergency law as illegal. The ruling effectively reduced Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods by 20 percentage points, but he immediately imposed a 10% global tariff under another trade law.
China on Friday denounced the probes and said it reserved the right to take countermeasures. An editorial by state-run China Daily added that the probes were representative of unilateral actions that complicate negotiations.
“The new round of talks is both an opportunity and a test,” Xinhua said.
“Whether the upcoming talks can achieve progress will largely depend on the US side. Washington needs to approach the negotiations with a rational and pragmatic mindset and act in line with the principles that underpin stable China-US economic relations.”
- Iran dismisses US escort plan as counterproductive initiative.
- Dar reiterates diplomacy as only path forward.
- Tehran reviews US response via Pakistani mediators.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday night said talks with the United States were making progress with Pakistan’s “gracious effort,” while cautioning Washington against being drawn into further escalation amid a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement comes after US and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime blockades, shaking a fragile truce.
US President Donald Trump launched a new effort to get stranded tankers and other ships through the strait, the vital energy-trade chokepoint that has been virtually closed since the US and Israel began attacks on Iran in February, a war that has killed thousands of people across the region.
Trump gave scant details about his new effort, which he called “Project Freedom,” to help stuck ships travel through the strait when he announced it on social media, two days after a legal deadline under US law had passed for him to get authorisation from Congress for the war. Trump told Congress the war was “terminated” and the deadline was moot, a claim disputed by some lawmakers.
It was the first apparent attempt to use military force since last month’s ceasefire announcement to unblock the world’s most important energy shipping route, which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said can only happen with its permission.
The cost of shipping insurance has also rocketed. For weeks, the US Navy has blockaded Iran’s trade by sea, which Iran says is itself an act of war.
But Trump’s latest move, at least initially, appeared to have backfired, bringing no surge of merchant ship traffic while provoking a promised show of force from Iran, which has threatened to respond to any escalation with new attacks on its neighbours hosting US soldiers. Major shipping companies said they were likely to wait for an agreed end to hostilities before trying to cross the strait.
Meanwhile, Iranian FM Araghchi said Monday’s events showed there was no military solution to the crisis. He said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan’s mediation while warning the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers.”
Criticising the US initiative aimed at escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi said: “Project Freedom is Project Deadlock.”
Nonetheless, the US military said two US merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, with the support of Navy guided-missile destroyers. While Iran denied any crossings had taken place in recent hours, Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by the US military on Monday.
The commander of U.S. forces in the region said his fleet had destroyed six small Iranian boats, which Iran also denied. Admiral Brad Cooper said he “strongly advised” Iranian forces to keep clear of U.S. military assets carrying out the mission.
Iranian authorities released a map of what they said was an expanded sea area now under their control, extending far beyond the strait to include long stretches of the UAE’s coastline.
‘Dialogue and diplomacy’
A day earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart, during which both sides discussed the evolving regional situation and Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts.
According to the Foreign Office, Araghchi appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role and mediation efforts, while Dar reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to promoting dialogue and engagement.
He stressed that diplomacy remained the only viable path to achieving lasting peace and stability.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have remained stalled since a ceasefire took effect on April 8, with tensions centred on Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes. The move has disrupted global flows of oil, gas and fertiliser, while the United States has responded by imposing a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary in efforts to revive dialogue, hosting high-level engagements between the two sides in Islamabad last month, though a second round of talks has yet to materialise.
— With additional input from Reuters
- Hunan fireworks factory blast kills 21, injures 61.
- Xi orders thorough probe into deadly factory explosion.
- Nearly 500 rescuers deployed after Hunan explosion.
HONG KONG: A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and injured 61, prompting President Xi Jinping to call for a thorough investigation, state media reported on Tuesday.
The blast in Hunan’s capital city of Changsha, home to a hub for fireworks manufacturing, occurred on Monday around 4:40pm (0840 GMT), according to reports by CCTV and Xinhua.
Videos on Chinese internet platforms showed thick smoke billowing from a large site with collapsed buildings and debris strewn around the area. Reuters could not verify the footage.
Nearly 500 firefighters, rescuers and medical personnel attended the scene, according to the South China Morning Post.
The blast happened at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company, media said. Reuters could not find a telephone listing for the company to seek comment.
Xi called for a speedy investigation to determine the cause of the blast and strict accountability for the incident, Xinhua reported.
Last year, China exported $1.14 billion worth of fireworks, more than two-thirds of global sales, data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity shows.
Xi also ordered authorities to strengthen risk screening and hazard control in key industries, enhance public safety and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property.
Last week, he urged a nationwide upgrade in China’s disaster response capacity.
The US Secret Service said on Monday it was on the scene of an officer-involved shooting in Washington in which one person was shot by law enforcement.
“US Secret Service personnel are on the scene of an officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. One individual was shot by law enforcement; their condition is currently unknown,” the Secret Service said in a statement on X. The White House was briefly locked down on Monday afternoon.
The DC Police Department said police were on the scene of the probe.
“The scene is secure. Avoid the area as roads will be closed for several hours,” police said in a statement.
Law enforcement agents have been on alert in recent days in the US capital following a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner late last month, over which a suspect has been arrested.
This is a developing story, and it is being updated with new developments.
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