US, China to hold ice-breaker trade talks in Geneva
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with China’s economic tsar in Switzerland this weekend for talks that could be the first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy.
The meeting with China’s vice premier He Lifeng comes after months of escalating tensions that have seen duties on trade between the world’s two largest economies soar well beyond 100 per cent.
The two sides are expected to discuss the reductions of the broader tariffs, two sources familiar with the planning told Reuters. The negotiating teams are also expected to discuss eliminating duties on specific products, US policies on de minimis and the US export control list, two sources familiar with the planning told Reuters.
The US Trade Representative’s office and Treasury said Greer and Bessent would travel together to Geneva on Thursday and would also meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter to discuss negotiations over reciprocal trade.
The Treasury statement said they would meet China’s top economic official without identifying the person by name. But Vice Premier He Lifeng is widely viewed as China’s economic tsar and chief trade negotiator.
China’s embassy in Washington could not be immediately reached for comment.
“My sense is this will be about de-escalation,” Bessent told Fox News after Wednesday’s announcement.
“We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward.”
A Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson confirmed that China had agreed to meet the US envoys.
“On the basis of fully considering global expectations, China’s interests, and the appeals of US industry and consumers, China has decided to re-engage the US,” the Chinese statement said.
“There is an old Chinese saying: Listen to what is said, and watch what is done. … If (the US) says one thing but then does another, or attempts to use talks as a cover to continue coercion and blackmail, China will never agree.”
This is the first meeting between senior Chinese and American officials since US Senator Steve Daines met Premier Li Qiang in Beijing in March.
Bessent told Fox News the two sides would work out during their meeting on Saturday “what to talk about.”
“Look, we have a shared interest that this isn’t sustainable,” he said.
“And 145 per cent, 125 per cent is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade.”
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a cat-and-mouse game over tariffs, with each side unwilling to be seen to back down in a trade war that has roiled global markets and upended supply chains.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has piled up new tariffs on Chinese imports totalling 145 per cent to punish China over unfair trade practices and the US fentanyl crisis. China has responded with 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs.
Trump and his trade team have sent mixed signals over progress in talks with major trading partners rushing to cement agreements with Washington and avoid the imposition of hefty import taxes on their goods.
with AP
Reuters
