Overview

• Delegations led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng began meetings at Spain’s Palacio de Santa Cruz, with USTR Jamieson Greer participating and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares hosting.
• The agenda covers tariffs, export controls and anti–money laundering cooperation, with TikTok’s U.S. status in focus ahead of a September 17 deadline to restructure or divest.
• China launched two semiconductor investigations—an antidumping probe into certain U.S. analog ICs and an anti-discrimination review of U.S. chip measures—after Washington added 23 Chinese firms to its entity list.
• The negotiations proceed under an extended tariff truce through November that holds rates near 30% on Chinese goods and 10% on U.S. goods, and no agreement has been announced.
• Officials say the discussions are intended to help prepare a possible Trump–Xi meeting at the APEC summit in late October.