Stock futures rose Tuesday night after two days of losses on news that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are slated to meet with Chinese officials for the first time since a trade war began between the two countries.
The two U.S. agencies said on Tuesday that they will meet with China’s top economic official later this week in Switzerland, marking an initial step in potential negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tariff assault.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office and Treasury said Greer and Bessent are traveling to Geneva on May 8 and would also meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter to discuss negotiations over reciprocal trade. It is there that they will meet with Chinese officials.
China announced that He Lifeng, the vice premier of China, will make the trip to Switzerland to hold a “high-level meeting” on economic and trade affairs.”
“At President Trump’s direction, I am negotiating with countries to rebalance our trade relations to achieve reciprocity, open new markets, and protect America’s economic and national security,” Greer said. “I look forward to having productive meetings with some of my counterparts as well as visiting with my team in Geneva, who all work diligently to advance U.S. interests on a range of multilateral issues.”
The meeting will occur as both the Trump administration and Chinese officials have indicated there may be room for negotiations. The U.S. has imposed more than 145 percent tariffs on China, causing China to impose its own 125 percent tariff on U.S. imports and cut off access to the critical minerals used to make many electronic goods.
“Our doors are open if the U.S. wants to talk,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Tuesday. However, he clarified that the Trump administration’s narrative of compelling trading partners to the negotiation table won’t work with Beijing. “If a negotiated solution is truly what the U.S. wants, it should stop threatening and exerting pressure,” Lin added.
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