US and China to hold tariff talks in Switzerland

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The United States and China are set to hold tariff talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is heading to Switzerland on May 8, where he’ll meet with a top business representative from China, the Treasury Department has announced.

Alongside the talks with Chinese representatives, the US delegation plans to meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter.

China’s commerce ministry and state media have confirmed the meeting in Switzerland. Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet with Bessent in Geneva.

Considering global expectations, Chinese interests and the appeals from US industry and consumers, China has decided to reach out to the US, it added.

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Beijing said that the US reached out to discuss “tariffs and other issues.” Senior US officials provided details, which China has now thoroughly reviewed.

China’ commerce ministry said that any dialogue must be based on mutual respect and equality. They added that a negotiated solution is only possible if the US acknowledges the impact of its tariff measures and corrects its erroneous practices.

US Treasury Secretary speaks on Fox News

In an interview with Fox News, the US Treasury Secretary mentioned that he expects both sides to first agree on the agenda for the meeting. “My sense is this will be about de-escalation, not a big trade deal. We need to de-escalate before we can move forward.”

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Bessent mentioned that he had initially planned to travel to Europe to discuss the trade conflict with Switzerland. It turned out that the Chinese delegation would also be in Switzerland. “So, we’ll meet on Saturday and Sunday,” Bessent said.

The world’s two largest economies in a trade dispute

The US and China share a common interest in reaching an agreement, the US Secretary of Commerce added. He noted that the current high tariffs are essentially an embargo.

+ Trump tariff shock: how Switzerland is positioning itself

Since the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies escalated in early April, Trump has slapped additional tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports. In response, Beijing is imposing surcharges of 125% on US goods.

Trump has recently made conflicting statements about whether talks are happening between the US and China. He first claimed there was an exchange with Beijing, but the Chinese foreign office denied this.

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

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