U.S. and Chinese officials have announced they will meet in Switzerland later this week, signaling a possible détente in the escalating trade war between the global superpowers.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott K.H. Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will both travel to Switzerland, where they will meet this weekend with Chinese officials. “While in Switzerland, Secretary Bessent will also meet with the lead representative on economic matters from the People’s Republic of China,” the US Treasury Department reported.
In an appearance on Fox News, Bessent said will meet with their Chinese counterparts on both Saturday and Sunday. Despite the recent confirmation of the long-awaited conversation, both sides have played down expectations, suggesting the meeting in Switzerland may not lead to significant progress.
“My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal … but we’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward,” he said.
He said that Trump was using “strategic uncertainty” to “get the best trade deals possible,” and, “That’s what’s happening with the trading partners who are coming to us.”
“The world has been coming to the US (for deals), and China has been the missing piece,” he said.
“We have shared interests,” Bessent said later on Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle.” The current tariff war “isn’t sustainable,” said Bessent, “especially on the Chinese side. And, you know, 145 percent [tariffs], 125 percent, is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple, what we want is fair trade.”
In recent weeks, the U.S. and China have been engaged in a trading contest, waiting for the other side to reach out.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson later confirmed that China had agreed to meet the U.S. envoys. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian in a regular press conference on May 7 said that the U.S. has made multiple overtures seeking trade negotiations.
“Recently, the U.S. said repeatedly it wants to negotiate with China. This meeting is requested by the U.S. side,” Jian commented.
The spokesperson reiterated that any dialogue or negotiation must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.
“China firmly opposes the U.S.’s tariff hikes. This position remains unchanged. Meanwhile, as we’ve stressed many times before, China is open to dialogue, but any dialogue must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit. To pressure or coerce China in whatever way simply does not work. We will resolutely safeguard our legitimate interests and uphold international fairness and justice,” he added.
The meetings appear to be a major step toward Washington and Beijing beginning negotiations to potentially resolve the ongoing trade war. It will be the first time that senior representatives from the two countries will meet in person since the escalation of a trade war earlier this year.
The talks come several months after US President Donald Trump roiled the global economy by announcing tariffs. China was the country hit hardest by the measures.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would not lower tariffs on imports from China to kick-start trade talks with Beijing in high-level talks scheduled to take place soon in Switzerland.
Trump responded “no” when asked by media whether he was open to pulling back the tariffs to pave the way for the negotiations.
However, the US President suggested in a recent interview that his administration is willing to soften the tariffs on imports from China. He said the tariffs with China can’t stay at their current rate forever.
“At some point, I’m going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much.”
The US President once again targeted China, saying that their economy is “collapsing.”
“Look, their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing,” Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But Trump claimed he is currently not dropping the tariffs against China.
He further said that China wants to make a deal “very badly.”
“We’ll see how that all turns out, but it’s got to be a fair deal,” the president added.
Lin Jian, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, highlighted in the press briefing on Wednesday that “no external shocks can change China’s economic fundamentals with a stable foundation, numerous strengths, remarkable resilience and vast potential.”
“Nor can they change the consistent trend of China’s steady progress in pursuing high-quality development,” Jian also commented.
