Senior US and Chinese officials are holding talks in Madrid this week as both sides grapple with deepening trade frictions, a looming deadline over TikTok, and rising tensions in the semiconductor sector.

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are scheduled to meet between Sunday and Wednesday, joined by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in what marks the fourth round of high-level discussions in four months. The talks are being hosted by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has sought to position Spain as a mediator in improving relations with Beijing.

The negotiations come just as China announced two investigations into US semiconductors. On Sunday, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce launched an anti-dumping probe into certain analog IC chips imported from the US, including commodity interface IC chips and gate driver IC chips manufactured with 40-nanometer and above process technologies.

In a separate move, China also initiated an anti-discrimination investigation into Washington’s restrictions on Chinese chipmakers, describing recent US measures as “containment and suppression” of China’s high-tech development.

The announcements followed the US Commerce Department’s decision on Friday to add 23 Chinese firms to its entity list, citing national security concerns and alleged links to technology transfers aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine. Among the blacklisted are two companies accused of procuring equipment for China’s leading chipmaker SMIC.

Meanwhile, one of the most closely watched issues in Madrid is the fate of TikTok. Washington has demanded that parent company ByteDance divest its US operations by September 17 or face a ban. Analysts say the most likely outcome of the talks could be an extension of that deadline, rather than a breakthrough.

The US Treasury said discussions will also touch on joint efforts to combat money laundering and Washington’s push for Beijing to curb illicit shipments of technology to Russia.