Trade tensions and TikTok top agenda at US-China meeting in Spain

Senior US and Chinese officials are holding talks in Madrid on Sunday to address long-standing trade disputes, Washington’s demands over Russian oil purchases, and a looming divestiture deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance.

The meeting, hosted by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, brings together US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, and Beijing’s chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang. It marks the fourth round of US-China discussions in as many months, following earlier sessions in Geneva, London and Stockholm.

At their last encounter in July, both sides agreed to extend a fragile 90-day trade truce, which eased some retaliatory tariffs and restored rare-earth mineral shipments to the US. President Donald Trump has since approved keeping US tariffs on Chinese imports—averaging 55%—in place until November 10.

Analysts said expectations for a breakthrough in Madrid are low, with the most likely outcome another delay to the September 17 deadline for TikTok’s forced sale of its US operations. Without divestment, the app faces a nationwide ban. The Biden-era congressional mandate for a US ownership transfer has bipartisan support, though the Trump administration is seen preparing to extend the deadline for a fourth time.

For the first time, TikTok has been formally included in the US Treasury’s agenda for the talks, providing political cover for an extension, according to sources.

“More substantive deliverables are being saved for a possible Trump-Xi meeting later this year,” said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator now at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She pointed to October’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul as a potential venue for announcements on TikTok, US soybean exports to China, and fentanyl-related tariffs.

Meanwhile, US officials continue pressing G7 allies to impose tariffs on Chinese and Indian imports to discourage purchases of Russian oil, part of a broader effort to weaken Moscow’s war financing. “Only with a unified effort that cuts off revenues at the source will we be able to pressure Putin to end the war,” Bessent and Greer said in a joint statement.

China’s commerce ministry has criticized Washington’s tariffs and export controls, while confirming that TikTok and other trade frictions will feature in Madrid discussions.

The Spanish government has sought high visibility for the talks, with Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares set to greet the delegations at Madrid’s Palacio de Santa Cruz. A Spanish official said hosting the negotiations bolsters Spain’s standing as a venue for sensitive international diplomacy while also reinforcing bilateral ties with Washington, strained in recent months over defense spending and policy on Israel.