The American secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent and the chief trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, will meet the economic tsar of China, he Lifeng in Switzerland this weekend for discussions which could be the first step towards the resolution of a trade war disrupting the global economy.
The news of the planned meeting of Geneva, announced for the first time by Washington on Tuesday evening, pushed the contracts in the long term on the American actions index. The stock markets in China and Hong Kong followed suit during Asian exchanges on Wednesday.
The talks occur after weeks of reception of tensions which have seen rights on the imports of goods between the two largest economies in the world diverge far beyond 100%, which represents what Bessent described Tuesday as the equivalent of a commercial embargo.
The impasse, alongside the decision of the American president Donald Trump last month to slap scanning tasks on dozens of other countries, upset the supply chains, falsified financial markets and muffled fears of a strong slowdown in global growth.
The negotiation teams convening in Switzerland, known for its neutrality, should discuss reductions in broader prices, according to two familiar sources with planning. Translections should also cover specific products, export controls and Trump’s decision to end minimis exemptions on low -value imports, one of the added sources.
The Chinese Council of State did not immediately respond to a request for faxed comments.
“My feeling is that it will be a question of de -escalation,” said Bessent to Fox News after the announcement. “We have to defuse before we can move forward.”
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce later confirmed that China agreed to meet the American envoys.
“Based on global expectations fully, the interests of China and calls from American industry and consumers, China has decided to re-engage the United States,” said the spokesperson, citing a proverb on actions speaking stronger than words.
This is the first meeting between senior Chinese and American officials since the American senator Steve Daines met Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing in March.
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Beijing has largely adopted fiery rhetoric when tensions with Washington have accelerated, saying several times that it would not engage negotiations unless the United States derives its prices.
Backing a change of punch on Friday, the Chinese trade ministry said that it had “evaluated” a Washington offer to keep talks.
Asked about the apparent U-turn on Wednesday, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, told a daily press conference that “Beijing’s position firmly opposes the American abuses had not changed”.
The challenges of the Chinese economy are high, its large factory sector already bearing the weight of prices. Many analysts have lowered their 2025 economic growth forecasts for the Asian giant, while the Nomura investment bank warned that the trade war could cost China up to 16 million jobs.
The Chinese central bank announced on Wednesday a new monetary recovery, drops in signaling rate and an injection of liquidity in the banking system aimed at countering the economic impact of the functions.
Analysts described the movement as measured and tactical.
“There is almost certainly also a signaling element in the United States government before the next meeting,” said Christopher Beddor, Deputy Director of China Deputy Research at Givekal Dragonomics.
“The message is that Chinese officials are not panicked or do not rush to consolidate economic growth, and they will not negotiate from a weak position.”
US officials have held a burst of meetings with business partners since the president announced a 10% rate on most countries on April 2, as well as higher rate rates that will start on July 9, with the exception of separate trade agreements.
Trump also imposed 25% prices on cars, steel and aluminum, 25% samples in Canada and Mexico, and 145% prices on China, with other tasks expected on pharmaceuticals in the coming weeks.
China retaliated by increasing its prices on American products to 125%. The European Union is also preparing countermeasures.
Although Saturday’s talks aim to soften tensions, we do not know how substantial they could prove, said Bo Zhengyuan, partner at Shanghai Policy Consultancy Plenum.
“For more complete geopolitical negotiations to be possible, the prices should be lowered first – the key is whether the two parties can agree on the extent and scope of prices of prices, as well as on follow -up talks,” said BO.
Bessent told Fox News that the two parties would train at their meeting on Saturday “what to speak.”
“Listen, we have a common interest that it is not durable,” said Bessent. “And 145%, 125% are the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple. What we want is a fair trade. ”
Trump and his sales team sent mixed signals on the progress of talks with the main business partners rushing to cement agreements with Washington and avoid the imposition of high import taxes on their goods.
Bessent told legislators earlier that the Trump administration was negotiating with 17 major trade partners and could announce trade agreements with some of them this week.
Trump told journalists before a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that he and senior administration officials would examine potential trade agreements over the next two weeks to decide which to accept.
The United States and Great Britain have made progress towards a trade agreement, said a British official, while Bessent said that many other countries, including Indonesia, have made good offers to reduce rates and non-tariff barriers, such as subsidies.
Trump’s movements on prices, which, according to him, partly aim to reduce the American trade deficit, so far have an opposite effect, the gap reaching a record in March while businesses rushed to import goods before the samples.
However, the American trade deficit with China has narrowly narrowed while the overwhelming samples that Trump deeply imposed in Chinese imports.
–Report by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and David Ljungren in Washington, David Lawder in Chicago, Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia, Laurie Chen, Liz Lee and Joe Cash in Beijing and Catarina Demony in London; Writing by Andrea Shalal and John Geddie; Edition by Dan Burns, Howard Goller and Shri Navaratnam