U.S. reports ‘substantial progress’ in tariff talks, but China is more muted

GENEVA — The chief U.S. negotiator in trade talks with China cheered “a great deal of productivity” in resolving differences between the world’s two leading economic powers, after officials wrapped up two days of bargaining in Geneva after President Trump’s tariffs last month prompted retaliation from Beijing.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that there was “substantial progress” in the weekend sessions but offered scant information on exactly what negotiations entailed. He said more details would come at a briefing Monday.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer suggested that an agreement had been reached but provided no details. He and Bessent briefly addressed reporters once talks had concluded at the stately villa that serves as the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, but did not take questions.

“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 far as may be thought,” Greer said. But he also stressed that a top Trump priority means closing the U.S. trade deficit with China, which came to a record $263 billion last year.

“We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to resolve, work towards resolving that national emergency,” Greer said.

The White House subsequently issued a statement titled, “U.S. Announces China Trade Deal in Geneva,” but offering only the same quotes by Bessent and Greer.

The Chinese delegation held a subsequent news conference in which it described what occurred as “candid, in-depth and constructive dialogue.” Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said both sides had agreed to establish “a consultation mechanism” for further discussions on trade and economic issues.

China’s negotiators also said that they and the U.S. team would be releasing a joint statement Monday — though the timing was uncertain.

“I think, no matter when this statement is released, it’s going to be good news for the world,” said Li Chenggang, the Chinese ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

Trump was anxious to declare the sessions a win. Even before the final day of talks opened Sunday, the president posted on his social media site that “GREAT PROGRESS” was being made toward what he suggested could be a “total reset” on the tariffs that have put the global economy on edge.

Beijing, however, sounded a more measured tone about the negotiations’ overall direction: A Saturday night editorial by its state-run news agency published before the second day of negotiations said that China would “firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity.”

During the Sunday evening news conference, the Chinese delegation said that “global trade wars that were provoked or initiated by the U.S. have captured global attention,” but “China’s position has been clear and consistent: China does not want to fight a trade war. We are ready to work together.”

Negotiations could go a long way toward stabilizing world markets roiled by the U.S.-China standoff that has ships in port with goods from China unwilling to unload until they get a final word on tariffs.

Trump last month raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145%, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125% levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped $660 billion.

Still, top members of the Trump administration were following the president’s lead in insisting that a hard reset of U.S.-China trade relations could be in the offing.

“Secretary Bessent has made clear that one of his objectives is to de-escalate,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who wasn’t in Geneva, said on “Fox News Sunday.” He added that the U.S. and China have imposed tariffs that are “too high to do business, but that’s why they are talking right now.”

“We are the consumer of the world. Everybody wants to sell their goods here,” Lutnick said. “So they need to do business with [U.S. companies], and we’re using the power of our economy to open their economy to our exporters.”

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that “what’s going to happen in all likelihood is that relationships are going to be rebooted. It looks like the Chinese are very, very eager to play ball and to renormalize things.

“We’re essentially starting over, starting from scratch with the Chinese,” Hassett said, adding, “And they seem to think that they really want to rebuild a relationship that’s great for both of us.”

The talks mark the first time the sides have met face-to-face to discuss the issues. And although prospects for a breakthrough are slight, even a small drop in tariffs, particularly if taken simultaneously, would help restore some confidence.

“Negotiations to begin de-escalating the growing US–China trade war are badly needed and it’s a positive sign that both sides were able to gracefully move beyond their bickering over who had to call first,” Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an email.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide, but its fight with China has been the most intense. Trump’s import taxes on goods from China include a 20% charge that he says is meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.

The remaining 125% involve a dispute that dates to Trump’s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China then, which means the total tariffs on some Chinese goods can exceed 145%.

Keaten, Bodeen and Weissert write for the Associated Press and reported from Geneva; Taipei, Taiwan; and Washington, respectively.