‘Substantial progress’ reported in China talks

GENEVA The lead U S negotiator in exchange talks with China cited a great deal of productivity in resolving differences between the world s two leading economic powers after executives wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following President Donald Trump s steep tariffs and Beijing s retaliation U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Sunday that there was substantial progress in the weekend sessions but offered scant details on exactly what negotiations entailed He mentioned details would come at a briefing the following day There was no immediate comment from the Chinese representatives at the talks Bessent was more cautious in assessing the state of play than was his partner U S Transaction Representative Jamieson Greer It s crucial to understand how promptly we were able to come to agreement which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as far as maybe thought revealed Greer who did not say what deal he was referring to Neither Bessent who did not speak of any deal or agreement nor Greer took questions after making statements at a news conference The White House subsequently issued a report titled U S Announces China Agreement Deal in Geneva but offering only the same quotes by Bessent and Greer Trump himself also struck a positive tone suggesting on social media on Saturday night that GREAT PROGRESS was being made toward what he suggested could be a total reset on the tariffs that have put the global business activity on edge Beijing however was more measured about the negotiations overall direction China in an editorial in its state-run news agency published before Sunday s second day of negotiations kicked off reported it would firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity The discussions were held at a stately villa that serves as the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations Negotiations could help stabilize world markets roiled by the U S -China standoff that has ships in port with goods from China unwilling to unload until they get final word on tariffs Trump last month raised U S tariffs on China to a combined and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a levy Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries boycotting each other s products disrupting deal that last year topped billion In its editorial Xinhua disclosed Talks should never be a pretext for continued coercion or extortion and China will firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity Still top members of the Trump administration were following the president s lead in insisting that a reset of U S -China bargain relations could be in the offing Secretary Bessent has made clear that one of his objectives is to de-escalate U S Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick who wasn t in Geneva stated on Fox News Sunday He added that the U S and China have both imposed tariffs that are too high to do business but that s why they are talking right now We are the consumer of the world Everybody wants to sell their goods here Lutnick commented So they need to do business with America and we re using the power of our commercial sector to open their commercial sector to our exporters Kevin Hassett director of the White House National Economic Council narrated Fox News Channel s Sunday Morning Futures that what s going to happen in all likelihood is that relationships are going to be rebooted It looks like the Chinese are very very eager to play ball and to renormalize things We re essentially starting over starting from scratch with the Chinese Hassett announced and they seem to think that they really want to rebuild a relationship that s great for both of us The talks mark the first time the sides have met face-to-face to discuss the issues And though prospects for a breakthrough are slight even a small drop in tariffs particularly if taken simultaneously would help restore specific confidence Negotiations to begin de-escalating the growing US China transaction war are badly needed and it s a positive sign that both sides were able to gracefully move beyond their bickering over who had to call first Jake Werner director of the East Asia Activity at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft announced in an email The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide but its fight with China has been the bulk intense Trump s import taxes on goods from China include a charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States The remaining involve a dispute that dates back to Trump s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then which means the total tariffs on specific Chinese goods can exceed