Chinese vice premier voices concern over US measures in call

Investing.com -- Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng raised concerns about recent U.S. actions against China during a phone conversation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday.

He expressed "serious concern" over the measures, according to a statement from China's official Xinhua News Agency. Both sides agreed to "enhance communication, build mutual trust and dispel doubt," the release said.

Bessent and He have held regular meetings over the past year and a half to address sensitive aspects of U.S.-China relations, including tariffs, rare earths and the social media app TikTok. These discussions led to a fragile detente that enabled President Donald Trump's state visit to Beijing in May.

The world's two largest economies are currently in a trade truce that resulted in the suspension of some tariffs and other export restrictions.

Recent tensions have emerged over several issues, including new import duties as Trump works to rebuild his tariff wall, access to rare earth minerals, potential shipments of Chinese weaponry to Tehran during the U.S.-Iran war, and the introduction of Chinese artificial intelligence models.

The new open-weight AI models can compete with some of the most advanced models created by U.S. companies. Bessent recently suggested U.S. sanctions could be used to address what he described as potential intellectual property theft by Chinese AI firms.

The U.S. has also imposed restrictions on foreign-made robots and inverters, citing "supply chain vulnerabilities." The Federal Communications Commission's restrictions did not mention Beijing directly, but most of these items are produced in China.

Trump is scheduled to host Chinese President Xi Jinping in the U.S. this September.

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