Senior US officials emerge from Chinese commercial talks praising “substantial progress” and “agreement”
Cnn
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The senior American officials involved in high -level trade negotiations with China have emerged by two days of talks praising “substantial progress” and seeming to confirm that an agreement between the two countries had been concluded, which could have massive implications for the world economy.
“I am happy to announce that we have made substantial progress between the United States and China during very important commercial negotiations,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a brief press release on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, where talks took place, calling “productive” negotiations.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said that an agreement had been concluded on Sunday after President Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on most Chinese products last month. China retaliated with 125% on American goods.
“The president declared a national emergency and imposed prices, and we are convinced that the agreement that we have concluded with our Chinese partners will help us to resolve the work to resolve this national emergency,” said Greer.
He added: “It is important to understand how speed we have agreed, which reflects that the differences may not have been as tall as perhaps thought.”
CNN asked the service of the clarification treasure on the agreement, although Bessent said that the details will be shared on Monday morning. Before the talks, the Trump administration officials minimized expectations that an agreement would be concluded this weekend, characterizing meetings as a good first step. Bessent had suggested earlier this week that his goal was de-escalation of tensions when the United States and China have been in a virtual dead end since Trump imposed his pricing policy.
“These are very difficult negotiators,” said Greer about his Chinese counterparts, saying that the group “worked very with diligence” and that the last two days were “very constructive”.
Bessent said that he and Greer, who had not answered the press questions, informed Trump, whom he described as “fully informed”.
Trump said before the talks that he was willing to reduce the rate of 80%of China, saying in an article on social networks that it was “to Scott B.”, referring to Bessent. Later, the White House said that China also needed to make concessions.
The weekend talks have marked an important step towards defrosting US-Chinese trade relations.
The current tariff rate of 145% sent Chinese shipments to the United States plunging 60%, according to Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a logistics and freight transfer broker.
Even the reduction in this rate rate by half may not be sufficient to considerably change the levels of trade. Economists said 50% was the brand or break -up threshold for the return of somewhat normal business between the two countries.
The combination of fewer goods arriving and increased costs on the imports that have already started to increase the prices of Americans. Goldman Sachs analysts said Thursday that a key measure of inflation would actually double to 4% by the end of the year due to the Trump trade war.
And with ships carrying goods under the 145% rates that are currently in port, a trade agreement would not immediately increase the prices.
To say that the Americans depend on a wide range of Chinese goods underestimate the way these goods have become omnipresent in all our lives. Shoes, clothes, household appliances, micropuits, baby items, toys, sports equipment, desktops and much more paid in the United States from China in amazing number.
But now these imports are decreasing. Imports to the United States during the second half of 2025 should drop by at least 20% from one year to the next, according to the National Federation of Retail. The drop in China will be even more striking: JPMorgan expects a drop of 75% to 80% of imports from there.
The trade war has already affected the American economy. The country’s gross domestic product, the widest measure in the American economy, has shown the first quarterly contraction in America since the beginning of 2022, while importers were running to bring goods before punishing the rate rates.
The impact of Heaven-Haut prices is also strongly felt in China, whose exports to the United States fell sharply in April. Outgoing Chinese expeditions in the United States amounted to $ 33 billion last month – a huge drop of 21% compared to the $ 41.8 billion recorded in April 2024, according to CNN calculation.
Strong American rates have also wreaked havoc in the Chinese manufacturing sector. The Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest rate in 16 months in April, adding the emergency to Beijing efforts to deploy a new economic recovery.
The news that Bessente and Greer would meet their Chinese counterparts in Geneva raised the hope of a thaw between the two nations. The United States and China are respectively the largest and largest economies in the world, larger than the following 20 economies, according to the World Bank data.
Trump also told a conservative radio host on Wednesday that he would increase the case of the Jimmy Lai -imprisoned media magnate “in the negotiation”. Lai, a former pugnacious publisher whose tabloid apple which closed the daily was a regular thorn to the Beijing team, is in the middle of a national security trial which could send it to life for life.
It is not known if US officials have mentioned Lai in talks with their Chinese counterparts.
David Goldman of CNN and Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report.
