Senior US and officials from China met again on Sunday in Geneva to continue weekend talks aimed at cooling the trade war threatening the global economy. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Saturday for about eight hours, marking the first face-to-face meeting since the two largest economies imposed tariffs above 100% on each other’s goods.
The meetings, held at the residence of Switzerland’s ambassador to the UN, concluded without any comments on the substance of discussions or progress toward reducing trade barriers. However, US President Donald Trump later expressed optimism about the talks, stating that the two sides negotiated “a total reset… in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to share his positive outlook on the meeting, saying, “A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to.” He added that the goal is to see China open up to American business, posting, “We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” Trump didn’t provide further details on the progress made.
Before the talks, Bessent described the current tariff structure as “unsustainable” and “the equivalent of a trade embargo,” emphasizing the need to de-escalate tensions before moving forward. The high-level talks aim to ease tensions after Trump imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with levies of 125%.