Trump's Key Officials Set to Meet China Amid Intensifying Trade War

Two Trump administration officials will meet with their Chinese counterparts to discuss trade In the upcoming days, officials stated on Tuesday — possibly a crucial point several weeks following the interactions between the United States and China. imposed steep tariffs on each other.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will "meet with his counterpart from the People's Republic of China to discuss trade matters" during a trip to Switzerland, his office said in a statement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to visit Switzerland later this week, during which he plans to engage in discussions with China’s primary point person for economic affairs. While the official announcement did not specify whom he would be meeting with, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made a statement on the matter. post on X That Bessent is scheduled to meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng.

In a social media post Tuesday night, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. confirmed the Switzerland meeting, writing that China "has decided to agree to engage with the #US side."

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Bessent said he will meet with a Chinese team on Saturday and Sunday, and initial discussions will likely be about "de-escalation, not about the big trade deal." The Treasury secretary said the U.S. and China have "shared interests" because the sky-high tariffs imposed by both countries last month are not "sustainable."

Bessent stated on Fox News’ 'The Ingraham Angle' that the world has been flocking to the U.S., with China being the absent element,

Hours before the U.S.-China meetings were announced, Bessent told lawmakers during a proceeding where the U.S. stated they "had not participated in talks" with China as of yet.

China and the U.S. have recently found themselves in a heated tariff dispute, posing a risk to disrupt the relationship between the globe's top two economic powerhouses and jeopardize broader stability beyond just economics. $500 billion in yearly trade between the two countries.

President Trump hit China Last month saw 145% tariffs imposed on numerous products as part of extensive “retaliatory tariffs” levied against several dozen American trade allies whom President Trump accuses of engaging in unjust tactics. In response, China subsequently hit back with countermeasures. 125% tariffs On imports from the United States. While Mr. Trump suspended many of his retaliatory tariffs in an effort to negotiate new trade agreements with various nations, he kept the tariffs on goods coming from China intact.

The intensifying trade conflict has resulted in several weeks of volatile stock markets, igniting concerns about reduced economic expansion and increased costs for consumers.

Mr. Trump — who has cast his tariff strategy as a way to boost U.S. manufacturing and cut trade deficits — has suggested at various points that he's open to striking deals with U.S. trading partners, though he said earlier Tuesday, "We don't have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us."

In an interview with NBC News last week, Mr. Trump claimed Chinese officials "want to make a deal very badly. We'll see how that all turns out, but it's got to be a fair deal." The president also said he expected to lower tariffs on China "at some point."

Meanwhile, Chinese officials have said they are open to negotiating with the U.S. on trade, but pushed the Trump administration to drop its "unilateral" tariffs first.

When asked about China's request to end tariffs before negotiations start, Bessent told Fox News he's "not going to give away our strategy" but "everything's on the table."