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June 9, 2025

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US, China to resume trade talks in London as rare-earth, tech tensions persist: the story so far

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The United States and China are set to reopen high-stakes trade negotiations in London on Monday, aiming to revive a fragile truce on tariffs and technology restrictions after weeks of recriminations.

The meeting follows a phone call last week between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that both sides described as constructive.

The renewed dialogue is focused on easing export controls and restoring the flow of critical materials, particularly rare-earth minerals, after a breakdown in talks that began in Geneva last month.

Since then, relations between the world’s two largest economies have soured, with the US accusing China of withholding key exports, and Beijing bristling at Washington’s clampdown on advanced technology.

Momentum builds after Trump-Xi call

Trump’s phone conversation with Xi last Thursday marked the first direct contact between the leaders since the trade war reignited in February.

The new round of negotiations came after Trump said his phone conversation with Xi on Thursday mainly focused on trade and had “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries”.

China, in turn, announced that Vice Premier He Lifeng would travel to the UK from June 8 to 13 for discussions under the “China-US economic and trade mechanism.”

Over the weekend, Beijing also approved certain applications for rare-earth exports, though it stopped short of disclosing details about the recipients.

Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council, emphasized that the US wants a swift return to normal trade in rare earths.

“We want the rare earths, the magnets that are crucial for cell phones and everything else to flow just as they did before the beginning of April, and we don’t want any technical details slowing that down,” Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council at the White House, said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation.

“And that’s clear to them.”

Stumbling blocks remain after Geneva deal falters

In May, both countries struck a tentative agreement in Geneva to temporarily lower tariffs that had risen to over 100%.

However, talks soon stalled, with each side accusing the other of backtracking.

The US was particularly alarmed by a drop in rare-earth magnet shipments used in electric vehicles and military hardware.

China, meanwhile, protested new American restrictions on AI chips, chip design software, and visa curbs affecting over 280,000 Chinese students.

Monday’s negotiations in London will bring together US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Their Chinese counterparts will be led by Vice Premier He.

Observers note the presence of Lutnick — key architect of technology export curbs — as a sign the White House is open to revisiting measures that have rattled Beijing’s economic ambitions.

Uncertain path to progress as tariffs loom

Although Wall Street responded with guarded optimism following the Trump-Xi call, few expect a breakthrough.

Analysts at Bloomberg Economics cautioned that unlike the Geneva talks, there’s no urgency to reduce tariff levels and the talks are likely to be bogged down by thornier issues.

“This time around there’s no such low-hanging fruit,” Adam Farrar and Michael Deng of Bloomberg Economics wrote in a report ahead of the talks, the publication said.

“With more complex issues on the table, it will be harder for either side to walk away with meaningful new outcomes.”

The White House has hinted that if no deal materializes, Trump will reinstate higher tariffs in August.

That would mark a return to the more punitive duties announced in April, reversing the temporary reprieve granted after the Geneva framework.

China’s official tone has softened, with a Xinhua commentary urging the US to abandon its “security lens” on economic issues.

Still, it acknowledged that both nations share “extensive common interests” and called the economic relationship one of “mutual benefit and win-win results.”

Economic pressures on both sides

Behind the negotiating table, domestic pressures weigh on both leaders.

Trump, seeking re-election, is eager to show progress on trade.

Xi, facing economic headwinds ranging from deflation to youth unemployment, also has incentives to stabilize relations.

Despite tightening rare-earth exports, China appears open to engagement, with Xi reportedly telling Trump that he hopes to see the US “withdraw the negative measures it has taken.”

After their call, China’s foreign ministry said Trump extended a welcome to Chinese students — a gesture seen as symbolic amid broader tensions.

“It would be my honor to welcome them,” Trump later said.

Still, as the London talks begin, seasoned observers remain cautious.

“The US and China “just want to get back to where they were in Switzerland with a few more agreements down on paper to actually understand what is gonna be licensed, what gets permitted, what doesn’t,” said Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council.

Whether that clarity emerges in London remains to be seen.

The post US, China to resume trade talks in London as rare-earth, tech tensions persist: the story so far appeared first on Invezz

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In Business

Trump implies government could cut contracts and subsidies to Musk’s companies

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President Donald Trump has escalated his sudden rupture with Elon Musk by implying the government could sever ties with the tech titan’s businesses.

‘The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it,’ Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social.

Various estimates have been put forward about just how much Musk’s firms, primarily SpaceX and Tesla, benefit from U.S. government contracts and subsidies. The Washington Post has put the figure at $38 billion, with SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell estimating that company alone benefits from $22 billion in federal spending. Reuters has reported that the true figure is classified because of the nature of many of the contracts Musk’s firms are under.

NASA relies on SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The agency’s only other option at the moment is to pay around $90 million for a seat aboard Russia’s Soyuz capsule.

Last year, SpaceX was selected to develop a vehicle capable of safely de-orbiting the International Space Station in 2030, when NASA and its partner space agencies agreed to end operation of the orbiting laboratory. SpaceX is also expected to play a major role in NASA’s efforts to return astronauts to the moon and eventually travel beyond to Mars.

Later Thursday afternoon, Musk posted that he would begin ‘decommissioning’ SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which regularly flies astronauts and cargo to the ISS, in response to Trump’s threat.

NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said the agency ‘will continue to execute upon the President’s vision for the future of space.’

‘We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met,’ she said in a statement on X.

Tesla, meanwhile, has benefited from approximately $11.4 billion in total regulatory credits aimed at boosting electric-vehicle purchases, though that figure also includes state-level subsidies. Musk has claimed he no longer needs the credit, which he says now primarily benefits rivals.

Following Trump’s threat, shares in Tesla, which had already fallen 8% on Thursday as the tit-for-tat escalated on social media, declined as much as 15% following Trump’s post. SpaceX is privately held and its shares do not trade on the open market.

Trump’s warning came as part of a stunning exchange with Musk — who spent more than $250 million to help him get elected — that erupted into public view.

Earlier in the day, president told reporters in the Oval Office that he was disappointed in Musk’s criticism of the Republican policy bill that is making its way through Congress. Musk has blasted the bill, calling it a ‘disgusting abomination,’ amid concerns it would worsen the U.S. fiscal deficit.

Musk, who officially left his White House role last week to spend more time on his companies, spent much of Thursday launching into a tirade on X, his social media platform, where he posted a variety of critiques of Trump, the bill and other Republican politicians.

A make-good on Trump’s threat would come at a sensitive time for Tesla, which has seen global sales plunge partly in response to Musk’s very involvement with the Trump campaign. Year to date, its shares are down some 25%.

Trump’s warning also raises the specter that Trump could resurface pending government investigations into Musk’s firms. According to a report in April from Democratic staff of the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Musk’s firms were facing $2.37 billion in potential federal liabilities when Trump took office in January.

Since then, many of those actions have been paused or outright dismissed alongside the rise of the previously Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency, which gutted many of the agencies looking into Musk’s businesses.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Obama WH physician says Biden doc should have performed cognitive test

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former President Barack Obama’s White House physician said in a new interview that former President Joe Biden’s doctor should have performed a cognitive test to evaluate his fitness to serve in office. 

Obama’s doctor, Jeffrey Kuhlman, told The Washington Post that Biden White House physician Kevin O’Connor should have performed a cognitive test during Biden’s last year as president, given his age. 

O’Connor, who Kuhlman first appointed as Biden’s doctor in 2009 when he was vice president, declared in a 2024 report that the then-81-year-old president ‘continues to be fit for duty.’ The report did not mention any neurocognitive testing. 

‘Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,’ Kuhlman told the Post.

‘It shouldn’t be just health, it should be fitness,’ Kuhlman said. ‘Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?’

Kuhlman, who departed the White House Medical Unit in 2013, described O’Connor as ‘a good doctor’ who appeared to do his best to ‘give trusted medical advice.’

‘I didn’t see that he’s purposely hiding stuff, but I don’t know that,’ Kuhlman told the Post. ‘Maybe the investigation will show it.’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether Biden’s aides ‘abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority.’ 

‘This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,’ the order says. ‘The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.’  

‘Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,’ Biden said in a statement Wednesday night. ‘I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.’

Trump’s order appeared to nod to the findings of special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents while he was vice president. 

In a report released in February 2024, Hur concluded Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed’ sensitive materials but should not stand trial, describing the president as a ‘sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’ Hur cited instances when Biden could not recall key dates and events, including when he served as vice president and when his son, Beau, passed away. The report was released at a time when Biden was still planning a second term run. 

Last week, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., issued a subpoena for O’Connor to appear for a deposition at the end of the month ‘as part of the investigation into the cover-up of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive actions.’ 

The committee re-posted the Post’s interview with Kuhlman to X, writing, ‘Even Obama’s doctor admits the truth. This is precisely why Chairman @RepJamesComer subpoenaed Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician. This is a scandal of historical proportions, and we will investigate it thoroughly!’ 

In a letter to O’Connor, Comer said the transcribed interview would focus on the physician’s February 2024 assessment that Biden was ‘a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.’

‘Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden’s physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President,’ Comer wrote. 

Questions about Biden’s cognitive state stretch extend solely past Republicans. 

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson recently published a book titled ‘Original Sin,’ which details concerns and debates inside the White House and Democratic Party over Biden’s mental state and age.

In the book, Tapper and Thompson wrote, ‘Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.’

Naomi Biden, the former president’s granddaughter, dismissed the book as ‘political fairy smut for the permanent, professional chattering class.’ 

Comer requested transcribed interviews with Biden’s White House senior advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn, former White House chief of staff Ron Klain, former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti, a former counselor to the president. He also called for former senior White House aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden to appear before the committee and suggested subpoenas could be forthcoming if they did not schedule voluntary interviews. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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