Negotiations Continue Amid Differences Over Semiconductor Sanctions and Fentanyl Crackdown
Preliminary Coordination for a Possible Summit at APEC Expected
The United States and China concluded the first day of the fourth round of high-level trade talks on September 14 (local time) in Madrid, Spain. During the negotiations, particular focus was placed on the sale of the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok and other trade-related issues.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamison Greer held negotiations for about six hours in Madrid with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Both sides plan to resume talks on the morning of September 15, and the discussions are expected to continue through September 17.
According to Bloomberg News and other foreign media outlets, the two sides addressed trade, economic, and national security matters, as well as the issue of selling TikTok's U.S. business. This is the first time that the sale of TikTok has been included as an official agenda item in U.S.-China trade negotiations. Previously, in April of last year, the U.S. Congress passed the so-called "TikTok Ban Act," requiring parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to an American company. The original deadline for the sale was January 19 of this year, but President Donald Trump extended it three times, making the final deadline September 17. As negotiations between the U.S. and China continue, there is a possibility that the deadline for the TikTok sale could be extended further.
The talks are also expected to include preliminary discussions for a summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, to be held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, at the end of October. However, there are reports that the two sides have not narrowed their differences on key issues such as the crackdown on the opioid fentanyl, making the prospects for a summit uncertain. The United States has stated it will lower tariffs on China if China takes action to curb fentanyl distribution, while China insists that tariff reductions must come first before it can take relevant measures.
Wendy Cutler, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), pointed out, "If President Trump and President Xi meet at the South Korea APEC summit, there are only six weeks left," and emphasized, "The two countries must intensify their consultations to achieve results." She added, "Given the complexity of the issues and President Xi's growing confidence that China holds the upper hand, it will not be easy to reach a pre-summit agreement on deliverables."
The two sides also plan to discuss China's imports of Russian crude oil during the negotiations. Previously, on September 13, President Trump urged NATO member countries to impose high tariffs on countries such as China that import Russian crude oil, as part of efforts to pressure an end to the war in Ukraine.
This round of talks is taking place amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over semiconductor sanctions. On September 12, the U.S. Department of Commerce added 32 semiconductor companies, including 23 from China, to its export control list. The following day, China's Ministry of Commerce launched an anti-dumping investigation into U.S.-made analog integrated circuit (IC) chips.
The United States and China previously held three rounds of high-level trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland in May, London, United Kingdom in June, and Stockholm, Sweden in July. During those talks, the two countries agreed to extend the tariff war truce deadline to November 10. As a result, both countries lowered their tariff rates by 115 percentage points, with the United States currently applying a 30% tariff rate and China applying a 10% tariff rate on each other's goods.
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