The High-Tensions China-US Trade War ended on a Positive Note: A Conversation with the Swiss Vice Premier He Lifeng

The two days of trade talks between the US and China ended on a positive note amid high tensions between the two largest economies.

The two sides made substantial progress and more will be announced on Monday, according to Scott Bessent.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said the atmosphere had been collegial and professional, and the meeting had been an important first step to resolving differences through dialogue.

The discussions began Saturday morning in a villa that belonged to the Swiss government, with a view of Lake Geneva. On the villa’s front steps late Sunday, Bessent described the conversations as “productive,” and said that President Trump had been kept up to date with developments.

The U.S Trade Presentative, who was with Bessent, highlighted the speed with which both sides had found common ground.

“It’s important to understand how fast we were able to come to an agreement,” he said. It was something, he noted, which showed the differences were not so large as had been thought.

Several Trump administration officials still in Washington, including Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, had also spoken on television Sunday morning about the positive tone of the talks.

He was talking about his country’s mission to the World Trade Organization. He said Beijing had not wanted the trade war that President Trump created, but China was not afraid and would fight to the end — a stance that senior Chinese officials have repeated several times in recent weeks.

Australian diplomat and trade negotiator: Are we gonna rebalance the fundamental nature of the global economy and what is America willing to do about it?

As a result of weeks of upheaval in the financial markets, investors will likely react positively to this development as a sign that the disruption to trade between the two countries may soon resume.

“I would caution against too much reading of the tea leaves,” according to Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator based in Geneva. It’s likely that they came to an agreement on what kind of conversations they should have, and what kind of topics to discuss.

“Are we going to rebalance the fundamental nature of the global economy in which China is a massive manufacturing hub and the US is a consumption economy? “No, I think so,” said Grozoubinski, who was a former Australian diplomat and trade negotiator. Is there anything that the two sides can do to make each other happy? Sure, there absolutely must be.”

The U.S. says it is now negotiating for China to purchase more American goods, a throwback to a trade deal the Trump administration negotiated with China during another trade war in 2020. China bought no of the goods that the U.S. said they would.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China: “It’s a Good Idea, Not a Bad Idea” and “We Want More Balance”, said He Lifeng

The president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said that uncertainty remained despite the fact that he was encouraged by the decision. Businesses need to know when their normal operations will start and when they will stop.

Consumers and small businesses in the U.S. were shocked to see the price of their products increase in China due to the tariffs that had been placed on both sides. If talks with the two countries sour, the tariffs may not stay in place.

“Neither side wants a decoupling,” said Bessent “We do want trade, we want more balanced trade, and I think both sides are committed to achieving that.”

The Chinese “came to deal this week,” said Greer, citing rapid progress between the two countries, which have also agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to continue addressing trade issues going forward.

American levies on Chinese goods will drop from at least 145% to a base levy of 30% for an initial period of 90 days, while Chinese levies are set to fall from at least 125% to 10% on American goods.

The talks were led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier He Lifeng and on the U.S. side by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“We concluded that we have shared interest and we both have an interest in balanced trade,” Bessent said at a press conference on Monday. There was a positive path forward when it came to addressing FentanylSmoldering.

“China has always pursuing win-win outcomes in its trade and economic negotiations, and therefore any possible deal to be reached will definitely by in the development interest of China’s own,” said Li Chenggang, a diplomat with China’s commerce ministry.

Vice Premier He described the atmosphere of the meeting as “candid, in-depth, and constructive” at a press conference following the meeting, saying it achieved “substantial progress and reached important consensus”.