Top trade officials from China and the United States launched a new round of talks on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over tariffs between the world’s two biggest national economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting at the offices of Sweden’s prime minister for two days of talks,

U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting in Stockholm to discuss trade tariffs and a potential summit between their leaders

But the worst-case scenarios were so bad that Europe’s trade negotiators gave up on returning to anything close to those halcyon days. Over the past few months Mr Trump, convinced that the EU was ripping off his countrymen,

Beijing is betting that economic pressure and diplomatic defiance will force concessions, but its stance could put more strain on its ties with Europe at a crucial time.