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By Aliss Higham
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President Donald Trump has said "great progress" has been made during trade talks with China.
Why It Matters
On Saturday, senior officials from Washington and Beijing concluded the first day of trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland. The president has been embroiled in a tense trade war since he raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145 percent earlier this year, which prompted Beijing to retaliate with a 125-percent levy on American imports.
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Trump cited unfair trade practices as his reason for implementing the levies, and accused Beijing of failing to curb the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid. China retaliated with retaliatory tariffs, saying it would not bow to "imperialists" and bullies.
What To Know
"A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to," Trump wrote in a May 10 post on Truth Social. "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!!!"
China's Vice Premier He Lifeng met with U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer for about eight hours on Saturday in their first face-to-face meeting since the tariffs were put in place.
Talks were held in an undisclosed location in the Swiss city. A motorcade of was seen leaving the home of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in the suburb of Cologny, The Associated Press reported.
Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met both parties on Friday and said the fact that talks were even taking place was promising.
"If a roadmap can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions," he told reporters.
On Friday, Trump said that an 80-percent tariff on Chinese goods "seems right," marking the first suggestion for a specific alternative to the 145-percent levies he imposed.
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The talks are taking place just days after the U.S. and the United Kingdom announced they had reached a trade deal. A 10-percent tariff was implemented on the U.S. ally in April.
What People Are Saying
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday in response to a question on lowering tariffs: "That was a number [80 percent] the president threw out there. The president still remains with his position that he is not going to unilaterally bring down tariffs on China."
Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, previously told Newsweek: "After months of insisting that Washington must first roll back tariffs before any talks could begin, China quietly dropped that demand. This reversal is telling—and it affirms that Trump's pressure campaign is starting to bite."
What's Next
Discussions are scheduled to continue on Sunday.
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