US, China hold trade talks in London after Trump-Xi Jinping's phone call

High-level delegations from the United States and China are meeting in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that has roiled the global economy.

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng is due to meet US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at an undisclosed location in the city.

The talks are due to last at least a day.

They follow negotiations in Geneva last month that brought a temporary respite in the trade war. The two countries announced May 12 they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100 per cent-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession. 

Since then, the US and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, rare earths that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities.

President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talks would be held on Monday in London.

The UK government says it is providing the venue and logistics but is not involved in the talks.

We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks, the British government said in a statement.