Last week, Beijing announced restrictions on exports linked to rare earths, key metals for industries such as technology and defense, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100% tariffs in retaliation.
The Republican magnate had also warned of canceling an expected meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea at the end of this month, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
In the latest sign of efforts to resolve the dispute, Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a phone call Saturday morning.
Both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade negotiations “as soon as possible.”
Bessent had previously accused China of trying to harm the rest of the world by tightening restrictions on rare earths.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the video conference, according to a report by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Hours before the call, Fox News published excerpts from an interview with Trump in which he stated that he would finally meet Xi at the APEC summit.
Coordinated response
The high-level video call came as Washington tries to rally support from its allies in order to respond to Beijing’s new export controls.
For now, G7 ministers have agreed to coordinate a short-term response and diversify suppliers, European Union Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.
Following the group’s meeting this week, Dombrovskis noted that the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning diversification could take years.
“We agreed, both bilaterally with the United States and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).
The countries will also exchange information on their contacts with their Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions, he added.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters he hopes the meeting between Trump and Xi will help resolve much of the trade conflict.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva also expressed hope on Friday that an agreement could be reached between the countries to calm tensions.
The trade war between the United States and China was reignited this year when Trump promised to impose widespread tariffs on imports shortly after returning to the White House in January.
At one point, customs tariffs between Washington and Beijing soared to triple-digit levels, bringing some trade to a halt.
Both countries have since reduced their tariffs, but the truce remains shaky.
