Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met for about eight hours with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva in their first face-to-face meeting since the world’s two largest economies heaped tariffs well above 100% on each other’s goods.
Bessent, Greer and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz starting in February and retaliation from Beijing that has brought nearly $600 billion in annual bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
Earlier, U.S. officials including Bessent and Greer smiled as they left their hotel on the way to the talks, wearing red ties and American flags on their lapels. Bessent declined to speak to reporters.
Washington is seeking to reduce its $295 billion goods trade deficit with Beijing and persuade China to renounce what the United States says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to global consumption, a shift that would require politically sensitive domestic reforms.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Saturday that the United States’ “reckless abuse of tariffs” had destabilized the global economic order, but added that the negotiations represented “a positive and necessary step to resolve disagreements and avert further escalation.”
LOW EXPECTATIONS
Trump said on Friday that an 80% tariff on Chinese goods “seems right”, suggesting for the first time a specific alternative to the 145% levies he has imposed on Chinese imports.
China could be looking for the same 90-day waiver on tariffs that Washington has given other countries as negotiations take place, while any kind of tariff reduction and follow-up talks would be seen as positive by investors.
“If a road map can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions,“ he told reporters on Friday, saying talks could continue into Sunday or even Monday.
China’s He is also provisionally scheduled to meet the director-general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, during his stay, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based watchdog said.
Since taking office in January, Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, citing unfair trade practices and accusing Beijing of failing to curb the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid.
China retaliated with 125% retaliatory tariffs, and said it would not bow to “imperialists” and bullies.
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