GENEVA, May 10 — Chinese Vice Premier He Lipeng began talks with United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent early on Saturday in Geneva in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war disrupting the global economy.
Bessent and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions in which duties on goods imports between the world's two largest economies have soared far beyond 100 per cent.
The trade dispute, combined with US President Donald Trump's decision last month to impose duties on dozens of other countries, has disrupted supply chains, unsettled financial markets, and stoked fears of a sharp global downturn.
The location of the talks in the Swiss diplomatic hub was not made public. However, witnesses saw both delegations leaving the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in the leafy suburb of Cologny around lunchtime.
Over two hours earlier, US officials, including Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, smiled as they left their hotel on the way to the talks, wearing red ties and American flags on their lapels. Bessent declined to speak to the press.
At the same time, Mercedes vans with tinted windows were seen leaving a hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying on the banks of Lake Geneva, as runners preparing for a marathon warmed up in the sunshine.
Washington is seeking to reduce its trade deficit with Beijing and convince China to renounce what the United States says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to global consumption. This shift would require politically sensitive domestic reforms.
Beijing has resisted what it sees as external interference. It wants Washington to lower tariffs, clarify what it wants China to buy more of, and treat it as an equal on the world stage.
[caption id="attachment_400402" align="aligncenter" width="902"]
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a meeting with global business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 28, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
Low expectations
With distrust running high, both sides have been keen not to appear weak, and economic analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough.
On Friday, President Trump said that an 80 per cent tariff on Chinese goods "seems right", suggesting for the first time a specific alternative to the 145 per cent levies he has imposed on Chinese imports.
He has suggested that China initiated the discussions. Beijing said the US requested it and that China's policy of opposing US tariffs had not changed.
China could be looking for the same 90-day waiver on tariffs that Washington has given other countries as negotiations take place, while investors would see any kind of tariff reduction and follow-up talks as positive.
Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met both parties in Geneva on Friday and said the talks were already a success.
"If a road map can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions," he told the press, adding that the talks could continue into Sunday or even Monday.
Switzerland helped to broker the meeting during recent visits by Swiss politicians to China and the United States.
China's He is also provisionally scheduled to meet the World Trade Organisation's director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during his stay, according to a spokesperson for the Geneva-based watchdog.
Since taking office in January, Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 per cent, citing unfair trade practices and accusing Beijing of failing to curb the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid.
China retaliated with 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs, and said it would not bow to "imperialists" and bullies.
— Reuters
[caption id="attachment_400486" align="aligncenter" width="1373"]
United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing, in Washington, D.C., the US, on May 7, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
