China-U.S. trade talks spark optimism with proposed 'reset'
The Sunday China-U.S. meeting, where negotiations on trade and tariffs took place, concluded in just under four hours. Neither side commented on the progress of the Swiss talks.
The delegations were led by China's Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. It was their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the trade war, during which the two largest economies in the world imposed reciprocal tariffs exceeding 100% on each other's goods.
Bessent declined to comment to reporters at his hotel before leaving for the talks on Sunday. China has also not made any statements so far. However, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that the Chinese are "very, very eager" to engage in discussions and restore balance in trade relations with the United States.
Trump praises the results of the talks
Late at night, after the first eight-hour round of talks, U.S. President Donald Trump positively assessed the Saturday negotiations, stating that both sides negotiated a "complete reset in a friendly yet constructive manner."
"A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to," Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social. "We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"
Washington is trying to reduce its $295 billion trade deficit with Beijing and convince China to modify its economic model, which would include increasing internal consumption, Reuters reminded. China opposes external interference and expects Washington to lower tariffs. They also hope that the U.S. will clearly specify the goods it would like to export more to China. Finally, they demand that the U.S. treat them as an equal partner.
China's official news agency Xinhua commented on Saturday that the "irresponsible abuse of tariffs" by the United States has destabilized the global economic order, but added that the negotiations were "a positive and necessary step to resolve misunderstandings and avoid further escalation."
