Fake Email in Moolenaar’s Name Disrupts Trump–China Trade Talks in Sweden

Just before another round of U.S.–China trade talks kicked off in Sweden last July, Washington was rattled by an unusual incident. Law firms, lobbyists, and U.S. agencies received an email that appeared to come from Rep. John Moolenaar. The message asked for ideas on new sanctions against Beijing. But it was fake. Moolenaar had nothing to do with it. Still, the bogus email created confusion at a delicate moment as Trump’s team was preparing its strategy for another difficult round of negotiations with China.

A Fruitless Visit From China’s Envoy Adding to the turbulence, Li Chenggang — a senior official under Vice Premier He Lifeng — visited Washington in August. His trip was not organized by the White House and bypassed top U.S. officials. Instead, Li met with lower-level staff at the Treasury, Commerce Department, and USTR. According to people familiar with the talks, the meetings were unproductive. China repeated its usual demands: remove U.S. tariffs and lift export bans on American tech. No new concessions were offered. Xi Jlnping’s playbook was clear — stay at the table for optics, but yield nothing.

Tariffs, Soybeans, and Fentanyl Deadlock Progress The core disputes remained unchanged. Beijing pushed for the removal of tariffs and export restrictions, while Washington pressed China to halt shipments of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Sources said China refused, insisting that the U.S. first drop the 20% tariffs imposed over Beijing’s alleged role in the fentanyl trade. Agriculture was another flashpoint. Trump had demanded larger Chinese soybean purchases, but Beijing’s imports had been shrinking for 18 months. Certificates for U.S. meat were pulled, alternative suppliers were tapped, and stockpiles were built up early to avoid buying during the American harvest. Farmers feared China would skip U.S. crops entirely. On August 22, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng delivered a sharp message at a soybean industry event, accusing U.S. protectionism of “casting a shadow over China–U.S. agricultural cooperation.”

Status Quo as a Temporary Compromise Despite the heated rhetoric, both sides agreed on at least one thing — existing tariffs would remain in place through early November. They also agreed to relax export controls on a handful of items, such as Chinese rare-earth magnets and select U.S. technology products. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News: “We’re very happy with where things stand. I think right now the status quo is working pretty well.”

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