US and China meet in bid to 'de-escalate' trade war

Senior US and Chinese officials met in Geneva on Saturday in a bid to de-escalate a trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout and fuelled by Beijing’s strong retaliation.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were conferring with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in the first such talks between the world’s two largest economies since Trump slapped steep new levies on China last month.

Shortly after 9:30 am (0730 GMT), Bessent, Greer and around a dozen more US delegates marched through the lobby of Geneva’s luxury Intercontinental hotel, ignoring journalists’ requests for comment before ducking into waiting cars and speeding off.

The Chinese delegation left from another five-star hotel, the President Wilson on the shores of Lake Geneva, with large police contingents escorting the two convoys through the city, blocking ail other traffic on their routes.

By late morning, Chinese state media confirmed the weekend-long talks had begun.

The exact venue had been shrouded in secrecy, but AFP determined they were being held in a discreet location on the other side of the city.

Tariffs imposed on the Asian manufacturing giant since the start of the year currently total 145 percent, with cumulative US duties on some Chinese goods reaching a staggering 245 percent.