USA and China initiate trade talks amid tariff tensions

What do you need to know?

• On Saturday in Switzerland, the first discussions between the USA and China will occur since the start of the trade war.
• The US Treasury Secretary announced the meeting during a Tuesday interview with Fox News.
• Bessent did not rule out a temporary suspension of tariffs on Chinese goods for the duration of the discussions.

"Thanks to POTUS, the world has been coming to the US, and China has been the missing piece - we will meet on Saturday and Sunday to discuss our shared interests. The current tariffs and trade barriers are unsustainable, but we don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade," Bessent wrote on X.

He stated that both sides have a common interest in reducing tariffs, as the current level - 145% on goods from China and 125% on goods from the USA - is equivalent to an embargo.

"We don't want to decouple. What we want is fair trade," he said.

Bessent did not rule out a temporary suspension of tariffs on Chinese goods for the duration of the discussions, adding that "everything is on the table."

The plans to commence talks were also confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As announced, China's delegation will be led by Vice Premier of Economic Policy He Lifeng. On the American side, in addition to Bessent, the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also attend.

The talks in Switzerland will be the first since the imposition of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on China by Donald Trump, which subsequently led to exchanges in the trade war and raising tariffs to their current levels.

Although Trump announced that negotiations with Beijing had been conducted earlier and that China wants to make a deal, Bessent admitted that there had been no contacts between the two countries on this issue so far. Trump has repeatedly signalled that he wants to de-escalate tensions with China, though he claimed that Beijing must make the first move.