Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that “substantial progress” had been made in trade talks between the United States and China after meeting for two days in Geneva, teasing further details on Monday morning.
“I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” Bessent said, according to a statement from the White House. “We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive.”
Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland over the weekend to discuss trade amid a standoff between the world’s two largest economies.
No details were given about an agreement, but Bessent said Sunday there would be a complete briefing Monday morning. He added that he and Greer had spoken to President Trump, who was “fully informed of what is going on.”
Greer echoed Bessent’s statement Sunday, saying it had been a “very constructive two days.”
“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” Greer said.
“That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. Just remember why we’re here in the first place — the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,” he added.
The meetings represent the first public disclosure of conversations between Washington and Beijing, as the two nations have imposed tariffs on each other as part of a growing trade war.
The Trump administration in April imposed sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on several countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, the European Union and Thailand.
Trump later announced a 90-day window in which those tariffs would be lowered to 10 percent. However, he did not lower tariffs on China and instead raised them to 125 percent, on top of a 20 percent tariff already in place over fentanyl production.
Beijing responded with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, sparking fears of a trade war that could push prices up for consumers.
Bessent’s office announced on Tuesday that he would be traveling to Switzerland on Thursday to meet with the Swiss president and a top economic official from China.
Greer’s office also announced he would travel there to meet with staff at the World Trade Organization and the Swiss president. Greer was also slated to meet with his counterpart from Beijing in Geneva to discuss trade, his office announced last week.
On Saturday, President Trump suggested a “total reset” in U.S.-China trade relations amid talks over tariffs in Switzerland.
“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” the president said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The Associated Press reported earlier Sunday that tariff talks between the two countries had started again, but the perception of how the talks were going seemed to differ.
China was going to “firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity,” its official news agency said, per the AP.
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