The United States and China are set to hold the third round of trade talks in Sweden next week. On Tuesday, July 22nd, Beijing announced the suspension of the antitrust investigation into the American company DuPont de Nemours Inc.’s subsidiary in China.
The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation released a statement on Tuesday, stating that the agency has temporarily halted the antitrust investigation into DuPont China Group Limited. The statement did not provide further details.
This investigation was one of the retaliatory measures announced by China in early April after President Trump imposed high tariffs on Chinese products. On April 4th, the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation announced that it would conduct a case investigation into DuPont China Group Limited for allegedly violating China’s Antimonopoly Law.
DuPont, a US chemical company, established DuPont China Group Limited in Shenzhen in 1988 as the first wholly foreign-owned investment company in China. Currently, DuPont China has established 39 wholly-owned and joint ventures primarily engaged in the manufacturing of chemical raw materials and chemical products.
The suspension of the investigation into DuPont is part of the agreement reached between US and Chinese trade negotiators in Geneva in May to ease tensions. Beijing pledged to suspend or cancel non-tariff retaliatory measures against the United States.
Earlier on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that he would hold the third round of trade talks with Chinese officials in Stockholm next week.
In May and June this year, US and Chinese trade teams held two rounds of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, and London, UK, respectively. During the Geneva talks, both sides agreed to continue trade negotiations while mutually reducing tariffs by 90 days, with a reduction rate of 15%. China lowered tariffs on the US to 10%, while the US reduced tariffs on China to 30% (including a 20% tariff related to fentanyl issues).
The current truce agreement between the two countries is set to expire on August 12th. Bessent mentioned that the US-China talks next week may discuss extending the tariff truce beyond August 12th, and the negotiations may also include Beijing’s continued purchase of “sanctioned” oil from Russia and Iran.