The United States and China are set to resume high-level trade discussions this week, aiming to ease growing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Switzerland on Thursday for talks with senior Chinese officials, the Treasury Department confirmed on Tuesday. While the department did not name the officials involved, China’s Commerce Ministry and state media later identified Vice Premier He Lifeng as Beijing’s representative at the meeting.
China said the decision to re-engage in dialogue follows calls from the international community, domestic economic priorities, and pressure from American industry and consumers.
This meeting marks the first senior-level engagement between the two nations since a fresh wave of trade hostilities erupted in early April. The U.S. recently imposed sweeping tariffs of up to 145% on a broad range of Chinese imports, prompting retaliatory duties of up to 125% from Beijing.
Despite the rising tariffs, both sides have issued exemptions for strategically important goods, including specific electronics, to cushion the economic impact.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday at the White House alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Donald Trump said China is eager to negotiate.
“They want to negotiate, and they want to have a meeting,” Trump said, adding that discussions would take place “at the right time.”
The President has made conflicting statements in recent weeks regarding the state of U.S.–China communications, at one point claiming to have spoken directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping—a claim Beijing has denied.
As the global economic community closely watches the outcome of this renewed dialogue, the talks in Switzerland may serve as a critical step toward de-escalating a trade standoff that has rattled markets and disrupted supply chains worldwide.
