China, US gear up for pivotal trade talks

As high-ranking negotiation teams from China and the United States gear up for the third round of trade talks, set to begin soon in Sweden, analysts said Beijing will arrive with a clear and consistent message: Equal dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation is the only path forward.

The meeting, following talks in Geneva in May and London in June, carries significant implications beyond the two nations' own borders, the analysts added, as the global community looks to the two economic heavyweights to stake out more common ground and bring greater certainty to the world economy.

"Three high-level trade talks in three months indicate a mutual desire to de-escalate tensions and stabilize economic ties," said Lyu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The trade talks come ahead of the Aug 12 deadline for when a 90-day pause, agreed to by Beijing and Washington in early May to scale back triple-digit tariffs, is scheduled to expire.

China's sincerity has been extended in its efforts with concrete actions to implement the consensus reached by both sides, Lyu said.

"China's approach is rooted in its belief that the China-US economic relationship should be one of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation," Lyu said. "The ball is now in Washington's court to respond in kind and work together toward substantive solutions."

Michael Schumann, chairman of the board of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade, said, "Ultimately, any progress made in Stockholm that leads to more stable and constructive trade relations will be a positive signal for all of us."

The world is watching closely to see how the two major powers will navigate their differences and find common ground during the trade talks in Sweden, as the outcome of the talks will be felt by economies and businesses across the globe.

The World Bank slashed its 2025 global growth forecast from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent in June, citing trade tensions and policy uncertainty following US imposition of wide-ranging tariffs.

Jack Perry, chairman of the 48 Group and CEO of London Export Corp, said that as the world's two largest economies, the US and China have both the power and the responsibility to forge a sensible agreement — not perfect alignment, but a credible display of constructive stability.

"What markets, businesses and sovereign wealth managers are looking for is not grand promises, but a stable baseline. These talks may not resolve every complex issue, but they can and should reaffirm that in an evolving world, cooperation remains not only possible, but essential," Perry said.

However, analysts cautioned that the erratic nature of Washington, coupled with its unilateral and bullying style, serves as a reminder that concessions sacrificing national interests or the multilateral-trading system are never an option.

"As China engages in strategic negotiations with the US, it is not just fighting for itself, but for the entire international community, which has a stake in the rules-based global trading system," said Chen Wenling, former chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The US initially aimed for 90 deals done in 90 days before the "Liberation Day" tariff policy was enforced. However, despite the initial push, the effort has yielded only a few deals.

The European Union's member countries voted on Thursday to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) worth of US goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal. They would not be imposed until Aug 7.

Chen noted that Beijing's decisive and forceful countermeasures against Washington have served as a rallying call to members of the international community to stand firm for their own rights and interests.

"China's door to talks with the US about their trade dispute is always open, but China will not yield on key issues of principle," Chen added.