Reuters
[ Source: Reuters ]
Top U.S. and Chinese officials wrapped up the first day of talks in Switzerland on Saturday aimed at defusing a trade war that threatens to hammer the global economy and planned to resume negotiations on Sunday, a source close to the discussions said.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met for about eight hours with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva in their first face-to-face meeting since the world’s two largest economies heaped tariffs well above 100% on each other’s goods.
Neither side made any statements about the substance of the discussions nor signaled any progress towards reducing crushing tariffs as meetings at the residence of Switzerland’s ambassador to the U.N. concluded at about 8 p.m. local time.
Bessent, Greer and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz starting in February and retaliation from Beijing that has brought nearly $600 billion in annual bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.
The trade dispute, combined with 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.
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