No drama in Stockholm; Rare Earths and Trump's China shift; Beijing floods; Ok to say overcapacity, New Shaolin Temple Abbot

The US-China Stockholm talks have concluded. Both sides said they went well, without giving details. The Chinese side said they agreed on an extension, the US side said President Trump has to approve it when they brief him Wednesday.

USTR head Jamieson Greer in comments after the meeting reiterated the importance of rare earths:

We were there in the first purpose to confirm the implementation of what was agreed in London in terms of accelerating the flow of rare earth magnets from China to US companies and then were able to discuss further how to make sure that the entire US supply chain including those that go through third countries could be accelerated.

Earlier Tuesday President Trump in a post to Truth Social expressed his frustration at recent media reports that he has softened on China:

The bigger reason for the Trump Administration shift on China may be rare earth magnets, and this quote from the Financial Times’ Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai from New York stopover highlight…