U.S.–China Trade Talks Shadowed by Disputes Over Russian Oil and TikTok Ban

Updated by Faith Barbara N at 1352 EAT on 1358 EAT on Monday 15 September 2025

The United States and China are set to hold a second day of trade talks in Spain, as both sides seek to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Officials from both countries will convene at the historic Santa Cruz Palace in Madrid on Monday, in their latest attempt to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive trade agreement following months of tit-for-tat measures and escalating economic friction.

Officials, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, held approximately six hours of talks on Sunday as part of ongoing trade negotiations.

The discussions, scheduled to continue through Wednesday, take place amid persistent tensions between Washington and Beijing, particularly over China’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

The Trump administration has been pressuring U.S. allies to impose steep tariffs on China and India for their procurement of Russian oil, aiming to increase economic pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump called on NATO countries to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on Chinese goods until the conflict is resolved. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump asserted, “China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”

While Trump has already raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent to dissuade New Delhi from strengthening ties with Moscow, he has yet to target China directly for its oil purchases.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized Washington’s sanctions approach on Saturday, stating that such measures would only “complicate” efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

Wang’s remarks came as China’s Ministry of Commerce announced two new investigations into the U.S. semiconductor sector, following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to add 23 Chinese entities to its restricted trade list the previous day.

The ongoing talks in Spain coincide with a Wednesday deadline for Chinese company ByteDance to divest from TikTok, or face a U.S. ban on the popular video-sharing app.

Former President Donald Trump has delayed enforcement of the ban three times. The restriction was included in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress last year with overwhelming bipartisan support.

U.S. and Chinese officials last met in July in Stockholm, following earlier discussions in London and Geneva in May and June, respectively.

During their most recent meeting, both sides agreed to extend a prior pause on tariffs—some reaching as high as 145 percent—for an additional 90 days. Under this truce, the U.S. imposes a 30 percent duty on certain Chinese goods, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. products stand at 10 percent.

Heiwai Tang, director of the Asia Global Institute in Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera that neither Washington nor Beijing currently have strong incentives to fully de-escalate the trade conflict.

“China controls rare earth resources and manufacturing capacity critical to the U.S., while the U.S. offers a market that China cannot easily replace,” Tang explained. “Both sides retain significant bargaining power.”

A key topic expected to dominate the talks, according to Elms, is the long-discussed possibility of a summit between former President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, potentially on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea this October.

“I think there is strong interest in arranging a meeting between Trump and Xi within the next few weeks,” Elms said. “That is likely to be a priority for both sides.”

The comments were reported by Al Jazeera.

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