Switzerland, as in the past, has once again become neutral ground for the most important trade negotiations at the moment, involving the two largest economies in the world. Amidst the clouds of the trade war initiated by President Donald Trump, the United States and China have decided to have their first direct contact this Saturday, the first face-to-face meeting between high officials in Geneva, a city that hosts the World Trade Organization and where 23 countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947, which governed major global negotiations for almost half a century.
The meeting in Geneva has been the strongest signal so far that the two superpowers are at least ready to reduce the exchange of tariff blows. These discussions come a few days after the Trump administration reached its first trade agreement with the United Kingdom. A positive note that many other countries seeking similar agreements are holding onto before the "reciprocal tariffs" that the US President suspended for 90 days take effect in June.
Sitting around the negotiating table were US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and from the Chinese side, the top economic official of the Asian giant, Vice Premier He Lifeng. Both parties have offered different versions of who requested this meeting first - "the fact that China agrees to hold talks with the US at the latter's request demonstrates a responsible approach," says a Chinese government spokesperson - in line with the contradictory statements of recent weeks.
While Trump himself has claimed to have spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that Beijing was desperately seeking a trade deal, Chinese officials denied this, maintaining their firmness in continuing the standoff and counterattacking any new tariff escalation. "The US must back down and remove its unilateral tariffs. Beijing will never accept or seek any deal sacrificing its principles," states the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
The meeting in Switzerland was preceded by the latest data on China's exports in April, which dropped to the US by over 20% compared to the previous year. According to a report from the US bank Citigroup, the number of container ships leaving China for the US decreased by over 36% year-on-year in the last 15 days of April. In contrast, China's total exports increased by 8.1% thanks to growing shipments to Southeast Asian neighbors offsetting the decline in trade with Washington.
The other news prior to the initial negotiations revolved around Trump's comments, who has long criticized the trade deficits with China, hinting that US tariffs on products from Beijing could decrease. "It can't go higher. It's at 145%, so we know it's going to go down," he said, later adding on social media that an 80% tariff on Chinese products "seems right."
Trump, after starting his second term with an initial 20% tariff on imported Chinese products, escalated to 34% and then 84%. After China retaliated, the Republican raised it to 145%, prompting China to respond with another 125% increase. "Tariffs on China have reached unsustainable levels," admitted American Bessent in early May.