The US and China have agreed to start talks on trade issues, more than a month after Washington launched a massively disruptive tariff war that all but halted trade between the world’s two superpowers. According to CNN, the “future of the global economy is riding on [the talks’] success.”
The first in-person meeting between Chinese and US officials since US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” announcement of steep and sweeping tariffs, on 2 April, will take place in Switzerland, between 9 and 12 May. Vice Premier He Lifeng will represent Beijing, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent Washington.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Commerce Ministry confirmed that China had agreed to engage with the US after the White House signalled the possibility of adjusting its tariff policies and proactively reached out to Beijing. It also said that it had taken global expectations, the country’s interests and appeals from US businesses into account.
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“China’s position on these matters has been consistent – whether through dialogue or action, China’s resolve to safeguard its development interests will not change, nor will its stance and goal of upholding international fairness and justice and maintaining the international economic and trade order,” a spokesperson from the ministry said, adding that China was “ready to fight to the end if needed.”
Bessent, meanwhile, told media that he believed the Switzerland talks would be “about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal.” He said he saw them as a first step.
Some global trade experts are taking the same view, telling the BBC they expected negotiations to last for months. Henry Gao, a law professor at Singapore Management University and a former lawyer at the World Trade Organization secretariat, said he expected “to see a lot of back and forth” with talks dragging on for up to a year.
As it stands, 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.
