China-US trade talks: Steps toward resolving tariff tensions
The Sunday China-US meeting, where negotiations on trade and tariffs took place, concluded in just under four hours. Neither side commented on the proceedings of the Swiss talks.
The delegations were led by China's Vice Premier He Lifeng and US 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 speak to reporters at his hotel before leaving for the talks on Sunday. China has also not made any official statements thus far. However, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett mentioned 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, following the first eight-hour round of talks, US President Donald Trump expressed a positive view of 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 attempting to reduce its trade deficit of approximately £230 billion (€272 billion) with Beijing and persuade China to modify its economic model, which would involve increasing its internal consumption, Reuters highlighted. China opposes external interference. They expect Washington to lower tariffs and hope that the US will clearly specify the goods they wish to export more to China. Ultimately, they demand that the US 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 destabilised the global economic order, but noted that the negotiations were "a positive and necessary step to resolve misunderstandings and avoid further escalation."
