The Stockholm meeting — following similar talks in Geneva and London in recent months — is set to extend a 90-day pause on those tariffs. During the pause, U.S. tariffs were lowered to 30% on Chinese goods, and China set a 10% tariff on U.S. products.

Despite Trump's lack of interest in initiating efforts, he and his administration have been exploring the possibility of a meeting with Xi since the two countries’ delegations met for tariff talks for the first time in Geneva in May.

Analysts say the two days of meetings led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are likely to lead to an extension of current tariff levels that are far lower than earlier this year at the peak of the trade standoff.