Trump eases China export restrictions to aid trade talks — White House seeking face-to-face with Xi Jinping as dissenters warn H20 reversal is a dangerous mis-step -

The U.S. government has reportedly relaxed the curbs on technology-based exports to China in order “to avoid hurting trade talks with Beijing” and help secure a face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping, according to the Financial Times. This follows what is described as “months” of encouragement by the administration to the industry and security bureau of the Commerce Department to avoid any tough moves on China. Although the industry has responded swiftly and positively, not all members of the Trump administration are happy with this ongoing stance.

U.S. President Trump has postured with aggressive stances on trade towards China for years, and made a major show earlier this year of halting shipments of important technology products, like GPUs for AI training and inference, alongside instigating sharp import tariffs that all but halted much of China’s trade with America. However, although his administration talked a big game in its trade war with China, a new report suggests that its stance has been far more moderated behind the scenes and that it’s now all-but-halted its export restrictions as part of the ongoing trade talks.

The pause in blocks on exports is reportedly an effort to augment the ongoing Trump administration trade talks with China, with Trump himself keen to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping sometime this year. Talks are set to resume in Stockholm, Sweden, this Monday, though it’s not clear what progress is expected to be made. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet, with some suggestions that a further meeting between the two countries’ leaders will be a major topic of discussion.