Top US officials will meet with Chinese delegation in Switzerland in first major talks of trade war

WASHINGTON AP Top U S agents are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation this weekend in Switzerland in the first major talks between the two nations since President Donald Trump sparked a agreement war with stiff tariffs on imports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U S Commerce Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their counterparts in Geneva in the most-senior known conversations between the two countries in months the Trump administration informed Tuesday It comes amid growing U S realm worry over the impact of the tariffs on the prices and supply of consumer goods No country has been hit harder by Trump s transaction war than China the world s biggest exporter and second largest market When Trump reported his Liberation Day tariffs on April China retaliated with tariffs of its own a move that Trump viewed as demonstrating a lack of respect The tariffs on each other s goods have been mounting since then with the U S tariffs against China now at and China tariffs on the U S at American firms have already begun canceling orders from China postponing expansion plans and hunkering down as a effect of the tariff war After plans for the talks had been declared Bessent disclosed on Fox News The Ingraham Angle that as the U S has engaged in negotiations with various trading partners China has been the missing piece The current situation he revealed isn t sustainable especially on the Chinese side He added that current high tariff levels were the equivalent of an embargo We don t want to decouple What we want is fair transaction Trump had claimed previously that the U S and China were holding negotiations on lowering tariffs which Beijing has denied saying Trump must first lower his stiff tariffs The Chinese Commerce Ministry on Tuesday established the meeting between its vice premier and Bessent in Switzerland The Chinese side attentively evaluated the information from the U S side and decided to agree to have contact with the U S side after fully considering global expectations Chinese interests and calls from U S businesses and consumers stated a ministry spokesperson The spokesperson revealed China would not sacrifice its principles or global equity or justice in seeking any agreement Most of economists have commented the cost of the tariffs would get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for autos groceries housing and other goods And the higher prices are already becoming a burden on U S consumers who are in the biggest economic funk since the COVID- pandemic Meanwhile economists say the hazard of a recession is growing Wendy Cutler a former U S contract official and now vice president of the Asia Society Strategy Institute noted the upcoming meeting is a welcome maturation As the first face to face meeting between senior U S and Chinese administrators since Trump s inauguration it s an significant opportunity to have initial talks on unwinding specific tariffs mapping out a path forward as well as raising concerns Cutler reported We should not expect any quick victories this will be a process that will take time In Switzerland Bessent and Greer also plan to meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter according to readouts from their respective offices Both Greer and Bessent had talked with their counterparts before the beginning of the deal war Greer advised Fox News Channel last month that he spoke with his Chinese counterpart for over an hour before the exchange war started I thought it was constructive he commented adding This is not a plan just to encircle China It s a plan to fix the American financial sector to have a greater share of manufacturing as GDP to have real wages go up to be producing things instead of having an economic activity that s financed by the governing body And Bessent in February spoke with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to exchange views on the bilateral economic relationship according to a Treasury news release Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this review Source