US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to travel to Madrid this weekend for key talks with Chinese officials about tariffs and national security concerns, including the future of the popular social media app TikTok.
This meeting is part of ongoing efforts to ease trade tensions between the two countries.
Bessent will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss economic and security issues, according to the US Treasury Department.
According to AP, these talks mark the fourth round of discussions after previous meetings in London, Geneva, and Stockholm.
Both governments have agreed to several 90-day pauses on increasing tariffs, which has helped avoid a full-blown trade war.
In their last talks in Stockholm, Bessent described the discussions as "very fulsome."
He emphasized the need to reduce risks in strategic industries such as rare earths, semiconductors, and medicines.
"We talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship," he said.
Asked to confirm reports from the US side that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid, Spain, in the coming days, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that as agreed by both China and the US, He Lifeng, also a… pic.twitter.com/XUSJ6PmK3X
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 12, 2025
Bessent Joins Trump's UK Trip After Talks on TikTok and Tariffs
One major topic on the agenda is TikTok's ownership. The US Congress approved a ban on the app unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells its controlling stake.
President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for this sale three times, with the next deadline approaching on September 17. Trump said he will keep extending the deadline until a buyer is found.
Public opinion on the TikTok ban has shifted. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans support the ban, down from 50% last year. Roughly one-third oppose it, and another third remain unsure.
Bessent's trip will also include meetings with Spanish officials to discuss US-Spain relations.
After Spain, he will travel to the UK to join President Trump for an official state visit with Britain's King Charles at Windsor Castle.
The timing of these talks is critical. A 90-day tariff truce between the US and China is set to expire in early November, Bloomberg said.
This temporary pause has helped prevent tariffs from rising even higher, but its end could lead to renewed economic conflict.
Diplomatic efforts are heating up, with both countries engaging in talks aimed at smoothing the way for a potential meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in South Korea next month.
Analysts say the Madrid meeting could show early progress toward a deal involving Chinese purchase commitments in exchange for lower US tariffs.
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