U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other senior officials next week in Madrid to continue their discussions on trade, economic and national security issues, the Treasury said on Thursday.
Reuters reported on Friday that the meetings, which will also cover the status of the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok and joint efforts to combat money laundering, are part of a September 12-18 trip that Bessent is making to Spain and Britain, the Treasury said in a statement to Reuters.
Bessent also will meet with government counterparts in Madrid and London during the trip and will later join President Donald Trump for his official state visit with Britain's King Charles, the Treasury said.
The Bessent-He discussion in Spain will be the fourth major in-person meeting between the two top economic officials this year as they seek to maintain a trade truce that reduced retaliatory tariffs on both sides, and restored the flow of Chinese rare earth minerals to the U.S.
After meetings in Geneva and London, the two sides largely agreed in late July in Stockholm to extend their tariff pause for another 90 days.
Trump approved the extension on August 12 until early November. - September 12, 2025
