Beijing and Washington welcomed the progress made at the end of the weekend of closing door discussions in Switzerland, which aimed to eliminate trade tensions caused by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive global tariff rollout and China’s retaliation in March.
Following Sunday’s talks at the U.S. UN ambassador, Geneva Villa, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent told reporters:
“The lecture was productive,” he added.
Trade representative Jamieson Greer, who also participated in two-day talks on the door of closing with China’s deputy prime minister, his Lifeng, said the differences between the aspects were “probably not too big.”
He also praised what he called “significant progress” in trade talks with the United States.
Speaking to a Geneva reporter, he said the atmosphere in the consultations between Bescent and Greer was straightforward, detailed and substantive, reflecting similar language from the US delegation.
The two countries said they would issue a joint statement about Monday’s meeting.
After the first day of negotiations, Trump posted that the discussion was “very good” about the true social of his social network, describing it as “a complete reset negotiated in a friendly yet constructive way.”
Beijing had not commented on Sunday yet, but on Saturday, China’s provincial news agency Xinhua described it as “an important step in promoting the resolution of the problem.”
The Chinese delegation was expected to speak to the media on Sunday evening.
The meeting marks the first time Trump has met in person in person to tackle the topic of trade since last month when he slapped a sudden new taxation in China, causing robust retaliation from Beijing.
“The talks reflect that the current state of trade relations with these very high tariffs is ultimately not in China’s interests either,” Nathan Sheet, Citigroup’s global chief economist, told the news agency AFP. He called tariffs a “losing proposition.”
The tariffs imposed on Asian manufacturing since the beginning of this year are now totaling 145%, with cumulative US duties on some Chinese products reaching an astounding 245%.
Keep your expectations low
In retaliation, China has placed a 125% tariff on US goods.
Prior to the meeting, Trump has indicated that tariffs could be lowered, suggesting on social media that “80% tariffs on China seem to be right.”
However, his spokesman Caroline Leavitt later revealed that the US would not unilaterally lower tariffs as China would also need to make concessions.
Upon entering the meeting, both sides lowered their expectations for major changes in trade relations.
Bescent focuses on “emission removal” rather than “large trade agreements,” but Beijing argued that the US must first ease tariffs.
The fact that the talk is happening is “good news for the business and for the financial markets,” says Gary Huhhbauer, a senior non-resident of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
However, Hufbauer warned that he was “very skeptical that he could return to something like normal US-China trade relations.” Even a tariff rate of 70-80% could still cut bilateral trade by halving, he said.
“There’s a perception that China is well equipped to deal with this trade war,” Hufbauer said among more moderate Trump officials, including Bescent and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The Geneva Conference unleashed a global tariff blitz after Trump announced a trade deal with the UK on Thursday, but has signed its first contract with any country since maintaining a 10% baseline tax on most UK goods.
Following the US-UK trade announcement, analysts expressed pessimism about the possibility that negotiations could lead to major changes in US-China trade relations.
In his true social post, Trump claimed that the talks have “made great progress.”
“We want to see the opening from China to American business for the benefit of both China and the US,” he said.