LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains.

European shares eased in cautious trade on Monday as investors avoided making big bets pending the outcome of Sino-U.S. trade talks in London.

China's exports to the United States fell 35% in May from a year earlier, new customs data show, adding to pressure on the world's second largest economy as a new round of trade talks with Washington was due to start later Monday in London.