US and Chinese Officials Set for Ice-Breaker Meeting in Geneva This Saturday

By Andrea Shalal, David Lawder and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (News in A Day) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet China's top economic official in Switzerland on Saturday, U.S. officials said, in what could be a first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy.

The news from the meeting held late Tuesday caused U.S. equity index futures to surge significantly as trading restarted after two consecutive days of declines on Wall Street, driven by uncertainties surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's series of tariff announcements. The S&P 500 e-mini futures climbed approximately 1%.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Treasury stated that Greer and Bessent will jointly head to Geneva on Thursday. They are scheduled to have discussions with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter concerning reciprocal trade talks as well.

I believe this will focus on reducing tensions," Bessent said to Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on her show "The Ingraham Angle" after the meeting was announced. "It's crucial to ease the situation before we can progress further.

The agencies did not name which officials would attend the meeting from Beijing, saying only the two would engage with China's "lead representative on economic matters."

China's Vice Premier He Lifeng is widely viewed as the country's economic czar and chief trade negotiator.

After the announcement, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson confirmed China had agreed to re-engage the U.S.

"On the basis of fully considering global expectations, China's interests, and the appeals of U.S. industry and consumers, China has decided to re-engage the U.S.," the Chinese statement said.

"There is an old Chinese saying: Listen to what is said, and watch what is done.... If (the U.S.) says one thing but then does another, or attempts to use talks as a cover to continue coercion and blackmail, China will never agree."

Trump and his trade team have sent mixed signals over progress on talks with major trading partners rushing to cement deals to avoid the imposition of hefty import taxes on their goods.

Bessent told lawmakers earlier in the day that the Trump administration was negotiating with 17 major trading partners, but not yet China, and could announce trade agreements with some of them as early as this week.

Trump told reporters before a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that he and top administration officials will review potential trade deals over the next two weeks to decide which ones to accept, sending stocks lower.

The official communications from the agency didn’t characterize the gathering with the Chinese representatives as the beginning of talks. The U.S. and China have been engaged in a tit-for-tat competition regarding import duties, both sides hesitant to appear yielding in a trade dispute that has unsettled worldwide financial markets and disrupted logistics networks.

WIDENING TRADE GAP

Trump and his top officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since Trump announced a 10% tariff on most countries on April 2, along with higher tariff rates for many trading partners that will kick in on July 9, barring separate trade agreements. Trump has also imposed 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145% tariffs on China.

China responded by boosting its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%, although it offered some exemptions. A top European Union official said on Tuesday the 27-nation bloc was readying countermeasures if no trade deal was reached with Washington, adding that it was being contacted by other countries seeking to forge closer trade ties with the EU.

"I am looking forward to fruitful discussions as we strive to recalibrate the global economic framework for greater alignment with U.S. interests," Bessent stated.

Trump's moves on tariffs, which he says are aimed in part at reducing the U.S. trade deficit, are so far having an opposite effect. The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday the trade gap mushroomed to a record in March as businesses boosted imports of goods ahead of tariffs. The trade data highlighted a dynamic that helped drive gross domestic product into negative territory in the first quarter of 2025 for the first time in three years.

Specifically, a push by pharmaceutical companies to evade tariffs threatened by Trump resulted in an unprecedented increase in medicine imports. However, it’s worth noting that the U.S. trade gap with China decreased significantly due to the substantial duties imposed by Trump which substantially reduced Chinese goods coming into the country.

Since assuming office in January, Trump has imposed additional tariffs amounting to 145% on Chinese goods as punishment for what he considers unjust trading tactics and America’s opioid epidemic linked to fentanyl. In response, China has levied counter-tariffs of 125%. Bessent views these rates as untenable and likened them to a de facto commercial blockade between the globe’s top two economic powers.

(Reported by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland, and David Ljungren from Washington, David Lawder from Chicago, Jarrett Renshaw from Philadelphia, Joe Cash from Beijing, and Catarina Demoney from London; Edited by Dan Burns and Howard Goller)