This weekend, heavy representatives of the USA and China will meet for the first time since the trade war broke out. On one side of the negotiating table sit, among others, Scott Bessent, and on the other, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng.
At 10 am on Saturday, the negotiations started, according to the state-owned Chinese TV station CCTV.
"The contact in Switzerland is an important step to promote a solution to the issue," it was stated in a comment published by the state-owned news agency New China (Xinhua).
At around 20:30, sources for various news agencies stated that Saturday's talks had been concluded, and that they are expected to resume on Sunday. No information about the results has been released.
Opens for reduction
Prior to the weekend's meeting in Geneva, the USA's President Donald Trump made a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, where he opened up for reducing tariffs against China to 80 percent compared to the 145 percent that applies today.
The White House clarified afterwards that it cannot be discussed about any reductions without countermeasures from China.
China has responded by introducing tariffs of 125 percent on American goods.
In practice, tariffs exceeding 100 percent on both sides, according to Finance Minister Bessent.
Low expectations
In an interview with Fox News prior to the meeting, he downplayed expectations for the weekend's negotiations. It's primarily about scaling down the situation, not about reaching an agreement on the major trade agreement. And first, one must agree on which issues to discuss.
Trump has also threatened with significantly increased tariffs against several other countries, including EU countries. However, the implementation has been paused for 90 days. Against Chinese goods, the tariffs were introduced directly.
