WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials are set to resume contentious trade talks on Wednesday under the cloud of a prediction by US President Donald Trump that there would be no real progress.
The discussions among mid-level officials could set a framework for further negotiations as each country prepares to hit the other with new tariffs on Thursday in a deepening dispute over China’s economic policies.
Trump has threatened to impose duties on virtually all of the more than $500 billion of Chinese goods exported to the US unless it meets his demands.
The two days of meetings are the first formal US-China trade talks since US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Chinese economic adviser Liu He in Beijing in June.
After negotiations in May, Beijing believed it had assurances from the US that tariffs were off the table. But less than 10 days later, the White House said it would push forward on punitive measures.
China has said it hopes for quiet, steady talks to get “a good result on the basis of equality, parity and trust.”
But Trump told Reuters on Monday that he did not “anticipate much.” In an interview, he said resolving the trade dispute will “take time because China’s done too well for too long, and they’ve become spoiled.”
Trump also accused China of manipulating its yuan currency to make up for the effect of tariffs, while arguing the US central bank should be more accommodating.
On Tuesday, however, Trump administration officials were largely silent about the latest round of talks. Spokespersons for the US Treasury, the US Trade Representative’s office and the US Commerce Department did not respond to queries about the Treasury-led meetings.
“These are working-level discussions with representatives from across the administration,” a White House official told Reuters. The official declined further comment but pointed out Trump’s own pessimistic comments in the Reuters interview.
“This is to some extent a temperature-taking exercise,” said Scott Kennedy, director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Expectations are probably low on both sides.”
Previous talks were held by cabinet-level ministers, including Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce’s Ross.
The talks on Wednesday and Thursday will led by lower-level officials, Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass and Chinese Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen. Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish is also expected to participate.
“The vice minister from Mofcom is not going to be authorized to make some great offer, but if the Chinese say one interesting thing, maybe you set up a second meeting and the level goes up a step,” said Derek Scissors, a China scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.
“But I’d say there’s an 80-90 percent chance they are a total waste of time, and that’s why no one in the administration is talking about this,” he added.
Ultimately Trump will need to personally be involved in settling the dispute with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Scissors said.
Trump’s administration is pressing China to make sweeping economic policy changes to better protect US intellectual property, end its industrial subsidy efforts and open its markets to foreign competition.
In May, US officials presented China with a lengthy list of demands that also included reducing the US trade deficit with China by $200 billion annually. It is unclear whether that list has been revised for the latest round.
Beijing denies US allegations that it systematically forces the unfair transfer of US technology and insists that it adheres to World Trade Organization rules.
The discussions this week were expected to do little to stop the scheduled activation of 25 percent US tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT), along with immediate retaliatory tariffs expected from China on $16 billion of US goods.
But this could soon trigger Trump’s unveiling of a second $200 billion to $300 billion list of Chinese goods to be targeted with US tariffs.
On June 16, when Trump first threatened to dramatically escalate his tariffs with an initial $200 billion list of Chinese goods, he said would hit China with tariffs on another $200 billion in goods if Beijing retaliated a second time.
Erin Ennis, senior vice president of the US-China Business Council, said it was probably good for the two sides to start with lower level officials who could “get into the weeds” on the IP protection problems that US companies are facing in China.
“It’s good that they’re talking because not talking isn’t solving the issues and is only leading to more tariffs,” she said.
US, China to resume trade talks in Washington amid low expectations
US, China to resume trade talks in Washington amid low expectations
- The two days of meetings are the first formal US-China trade talks since US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Chinese economic adviser Liu He in Beijing in June
- In May, US officials presented China with a lengthy list of demands that also included reducing the US trade deficit with China by $200 billion annually
MENA startups land fresh capital, deals, and momentum
- Mega-rounds and strategic deals signaling investors’ continued appetite
RIYADH: Capital kept moving across the Middle East and North Africa as January came to an end, with mega-rounds, record local fundraises, and strategic deals signaling investors’ continued appetite for scalable platforms, from property and wealth tech to insurance tech, mobility, and Arabic-first artificial intelligence.
Saudi Arabia-based wealthtech Vennre raised $9.6 million in a pre-series A round structured through a mix of equity and debt.
The round was co-led by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, with participation from Sanabil 500, Ace & Co, Plus VC, and a group of strategic individual investors.
Founded in 2021 by Ziad Mabsout, Anas Halabi, and Abdulrahman Al-Malik, Vennre focuses on providing high earners with Shariah-compliant access to private market investments.
The company said the new capital will be used to expand its client base, roll out new platform features, and deepen its presence in Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030 and the growth of the local fintech sector.
Property Finder secures $170m
UAE-based property tech Property Finder has raised $170 million in new funding led by Mubadala Investment Company, alongside another UAE sovereign wealth fund and BECO Capital.
Under the transaction, Mubadala and the second sovereign investor will each invest $75 million, while BECO Capital will commit $20 million from its recently launched $250 million Growth Fund I.
Founded in 2007 by Michael Lahyani and Renan Bourdeau, Property Finder operates a marketplace that enables users to search for properties to buy or rent using advanced filtering tools.
The investment follows a $525 million round in 2025 led by Permira, with significant participation from Blackstone Growth, bringing total equity raised to nearly $700 million.
The company has also secured $250 million in debt financing from Ares Management and HSBC, making it one of the largest funding stories in MENA tech.
Property Finder said the fresh capital will support its ambition to build the region’s leading real estate operating system, focused on transparency, trust, and data-driven decision-making.
Yakeey sees record Moroccan series A round
Beltone Venture Capital has made a strategic equity investment in Moroccan proptech Yakeey as part of the startup’s $15 million series A round, the largest completed in Morocco to date.
The round also includes IFC, Enza Capital, and 212 Founders. Founded to modernize Morocco’s fragmented real estate sector, Yakeey is building an end-to-end digital platform that integrates property search, valuation, brokerage, and financing.
The company said its early scalability and growing broker network position it for regional expansion as demand rises for transparent, digitised real estate services across North Africa.
Enakl closes $2.3m seed round
Startup Enakl has closed a $2.3 million seed funding round, finalized in December, following an initial $1.4 million round completed at the end of 2024.
The round brought in new Moroccan investors Azur Innovation Fund, Witamax, and MFounders, alongside reinvestment from Catalyst Fund and Digital Africa.
Founded in 2022 by Samir Bennani and Charles Pommarede, Enakl develops technology to design and manage flexible shared transport networks for companies and public-sector actors.
The company said the funds will be used to strengthen commercial teams, launch the first version of its Software-as-a-Service product, and test new development models for ridepooling fleets, following its first pilot public contract with the Casablanca–Settat Region.
Glamera Holding signs MoU to acquire Bookr Group
Middle East–based lifestyle technology platform Glamera Holding has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Bookr Group, a multi-market operator active across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Founded in 2022 by Mohamed Hassan Hijazi and Omar Fathy, Glamera operates a technology platform for the beauty and wellness sector and has processed transactions exceeding SR4 billion ($1.07 billion), supporting more than 4,500 service providers.
Bookr Group runs a service-provider management platform and consumer booking application with more than 300,000 users.
Glamera said the acquisition will strengthen its regional footprint and support its ambition to build a unified, AI-powered ecosystem for service providers and end users, with the combined platform expected to serve millions across the Middle East.
Mantas raises $1.77m seed
UAE-based insurance tech Mantas has emerged from stealth with a $1.77 million seed funding round to launch parametric insurance products covering cloud outages and digital downtime.
The round includes Nuwa Capital, Suhail Ventures, and Plus VC, as well as OQAL Angel Syndicate, and a group of angel investors.
Founded in 2024 by Basil Mimi, Mantas combines cloud outage insurance with real-time risk monitoring, targeting digital-first businesses such as fintechs, airlines, e-commerce platforms, SaaS providers, and regulated enterprises.
The company said the funds will support product development, risk modelling, and early customer deployments across MENA and North America.
Juthor raises $500k pre-seed
Saudi Arabia-based e-commerce startup Juthor has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round led by Flat6Labs, with participation from angel investors.
Founded in 2025 by Lolwah Binsaedan and Irfan Khan, Juthor is building a cloud-based platform to help retailers manage sales across multiple online marketplaces through real-time stock synchronization and AI-driven customer insights.
The company said the capital will be used to build scalable infrastructure and accelerate product development in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Yozo.ai secures $1.7 million pre-seed
UAE-based e-commerce AI startup Yozo.ai has raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding, with the round co-led by Access Bridge Ventures and Disruptech Ventures, with participation from Arzan VC, Oraseya Capital, and Plus VC, as well as Suhail Ventures, Glint Ventures, and M-Empire Angels.
Founded in early 2025, Yozo builds an AI-native revenue engine designed to automate e-commerce growth and retention marketing.
The company said the funding will support product development and international expansion beyond MENA.
Abwaab acquires Apex Education
Jordan-based education tech platform Abwaab has acquired Egypt-based college admissions advisory Apex Education for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2019, Apex Education provides personalized admissions guidance to students applying to leading global universities, while Abwaab operates a digital tutoring platform across Jordan, Egypt, and Pakistan.
Abwaab said the acquisition strengthens its end-to-end offering, extending from tutoring through to international university admissions.
Arabic.AI collaborates with Stanford University
Arabic.AI has announced a collaboration with Stanford University’s Center for Research on Foundation Models to establish the first holistic benchmark for evaluating Arabic large language models.
The initiative will extend Stanford’s HELM framework into Arabic, providing a transparent and reproducible reference for assessing model performance and risk.
Arabic.AI said the collaboration supports its mission to advance Arabic-first AI models while contributing a public research asset for the wider AI and enterprise ecosystem.
