CHINA and the United States have agreed to work on extending a deadline for new tariffs on each other’s goods after two days of trade talks in Stockholm.

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who led his country’s negotiating team, said: “A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US economic and trade relationship serves not only the two countries’ respective development goals but also contributes to global economic growth and stability.”

The US side described the talks, which ended on Tuesday, as “in-depth, candid and constructive” and said that it had been agreed that work on extending a pause in tariffs would continue beyond an August 12 deadline for a trade deal for another 90 days.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides had discussed Washington’s concerns over China buying Iranian oil, supplying Russia with dual-use technology that could be used on the battlefield and manufacturing goods at a rate beyond what is sustained by global demand.

“We just need to derisk with certain strategic industries, whether it’s the rare earths, semiconductors, medicines, and we talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship,” Mr Bessent said.

The talks in Stockholm came as President Donald Trump considers plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, a summit that could be a crucial step towards locking in any major agreements between their two countries.

Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that he thought the meeting might take place “before the end of the year.”

Mr Bessent said the summit had not been discussed in Stockholm, but that they did talk about “the desire of the two presidents for the trade team and the Treasury team to have trade negotiations with our Chinese counterparts.”

The US has struck deals with some of its key trading partners, including Britain, Japan and the European Union, since Mr Trump launched his tariff war against dozens of countries. 

But China has faced down the US and forced Washington to back away from the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May.

Agreement was reached on a 90-day pause in the tariffs the two sides placed on each other’s goods, a deal that expires on August 12.

Chinese goods currently face tariffs of 30 per cent in the US, while Beijing has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on US products.