Bessent, Greer to meet Chinese officials to start trade talks this week

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. | REUTERS

BLOOMBERG
May 7, 2025

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will travel later this week to Switzerland for trade talks with China led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, jump-starting negotiations between the two nations.

The travel was announced in statements Tuesday from the Chinese and U.S. governments. It will be the first confirmed trade talks between the countries since U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs, led by punishing levies on China.

Bessent, in an interview on Fox News, said the talks Saturday and Sunday will center on deescalation rather than a big trade deal, "but we’ve got to deescalate before we move forward.”