Details on trade talks held between China and the US over the weekend could be announced today, CNN reports. The meeting is being viewed as a first step towards tempering Washington’s tariff war, which has dramatically reduced trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
CNN quoted both Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as saying “substantial progress” was made in Geneva, where representatives from both countries spent the past two days locked in negotiations.
Neither side released any official details over the weekend, but China’s vice premier reportedly described the talks as “candid, in-depth and constructive” and said both sides agreed to establish a “trade consultation mechanism.”
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: “We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency.”
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Last week, Bessent told media he believed the Switzerland talks would be “about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal.” Trade experts predict that negotiations could take months.
The US is imposing tariffs of up to 145 percent on most Chinese imports, while China has imposed a retaliatory rate of 125 percent on all US imports. Trump had previously indicated he was willing to lower the rate applied to China to 80 percent.
China’s exports to the US dropped 21 percent year-on-year in April, and its factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in 16 months. April also saw Beijing announce a suite of measures designed to protect workers from the impact of US actions.
Many analysts say that the tariff war being waged against China is a severe miscalculation by the Trump administration, with Beijing having spent years preparing for Washington’s containment policies and willing to play the long game.
