From Sunday (September 14th) onwards, a US-China team will hold talks in Madrid, Spain, concerning trade and other economic issues such as TikTok.
According to a press release from the US Treasury Department, the meeting with Chinese officials is part of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s European tour.
The Treasury Department stated that from September 12th to 18th, Bessent will visit Spain and the United Kingdom. During his time in Madrid, Bessent will meet with Spanish officials to discuss the relationship between Spain and the US. He will also meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other Chinese officials to “discuss key national security, economic, and trade issues of mutual concern, including TikTok, as well as cooperation on combating money laundering networks threatening both the US and China.”
According to Reuters, officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced on Saturday (September 13th) that Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also join Bessent in the US-China talks in Madrid starting on Sunday.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce mentioned that the Madrid talks will cover US tariffs, “abuse” of export controls, and economic and trade issues including TikTok.
September 17th marks the deadline for the US request for ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest TikTok’s US assets. The US Congress has long viewed TikTok as a threat to national security as it believes China could use TikTok to gather personal information of Americans to advance espionage activities. China is also believed to utilize TikTok algorithms for targeted propaganda. TikTok denies any control by Beijing over the application.
In 2024, Congress passed the “Sell it or Be Banned” Act targeting TikTok, requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations before the specified deadline (January 19, 2025), or face a complete ban of the app in the US. After taking office, Trump signed three executive orders delaying the TikTok ban until September 17th.
The last meeting between US and Chinese trade teams was held at the end of July in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. At that time, both sides agreed to continue discussions on a potential extension of the tariff truce period, but the final decision would be made by Trump. On August 11th, Trump signed an executive order extending the tariff truce for another 90 days.
The issue of China purchasing Russian oil is also gaining more attention from the US. On Friday (September 12th), Bessent urged Group of Seven (G7) allies to impose “meaningful tariffs” on imports from China and India to compel them to stop buying Russian oil. This move aims to reduce Russia’s oil revenue to pressure Putin into ending negotiations for the Russia-Ukraine war.
G7 finance ministers stated on Friday that while discussing measures to increase pressure on Russia, they also discussed these measures and agreed to expedite discussions to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defense.
Bessent and Greer expressed in a joint statement that G7 allies should impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil along with the US.
“Only through a unified action to cut off funding for Putin’s war machine can we exert enough economic pressure to end this senseless slaughter,” Bessent and Greer stated.