The U.S. and China are holding talks about the US tariffs on Chinese goods

The First Steps of a Dance: Telling the U.S. and China What It Takes to End the Trade War Against China

“Now the chance has been taken by China and the U.S.,” Keller-Sutter told NPR. We want this platform to lead to a result because it would be in the interest of the world economy and world commerce.

Swiss President Keller-Sutter said that her country is happy to help facilitate dialogue between the two global economic powers, at a time when tariffs are weighing on stock prices and economic forecasts alike.

Bessent said he was originally only visiting Geneva to edge closer to a separate, updated trading arrangement with Swiss authorities. They told reporters in a news conference Friday that they hoped their own agreement with Washington could be struck within a few weeks.

But for Bessent, China has been the “missing piece,” as he explained in a recent interview on Fox News — one of the only countries that until now has refused to enter discussions on trade.

Just days before these discussions of seismic economic significance, the United Kingdom became the first country to strike its own limited trade deal with the Trump administration — albeit one that left tariffs of 10% still in place on most British exports.

The talks are being held at a grand hilltop villa with sweeping views of Lake Geneva used by Switzerland’s ambassador to the United Nations. Neither side has issued public statements since the talks began early Saturday.

GENEVA — Negotiating teams from both the U.S. and China have ended two days of trade talks in Switzerland on a positive note, amid severe tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The meetings in a Swiss city known for its discretion and conflict resolution represent the first potential efforts to end a trade war that has caused billions of dollars’ worth of import disruption in both the United States and China.

The U.S. delegation is being led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, alongside Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and the only participant the Chinese have confirmed is the country’s vice premier for economic affairs, He Lifeng.

“The two delegations will be feeling one another out — neither side particularly benefits from this current iteration of the trade war continuing,” said Grozoubinski, now the executive director of the Geneva Trade Platform think tank.

The first steps of a dance are about trying to communicate both the good and the bad in the same way, while feeling out what a win might look like.

Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former diplomat and trade negotiator for Australia, says this initial set of conversations might mean the beginning of a months-long negotiation.

The Bessent-Zweigs-Sutter Correspondence: An Intense Implication for China’s Trade Relationship with the World Trade Organization

When he arrived in Geneva on Friday, Bessent had met with senior Swiss officials including Keller-Sutter. She told him she was hoping the Holyspirit would come up to Switzerland to assist her in nudging things along, since it was during the pope’s election.

Scott Bessent said Sunday evening that the two sides made progress, but more details would be announced Monday.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said the atmosphere had been collegial and professional, and the meeting had been an important first step to resolving differences through dialogue.

U.S. Trade Presentative Jamieson Greer, who joined Bessent as part of the U.S. delegation, meanwhile highlighted the speed at which both sides had found common ground.

We were able to come to an agreement quickly. It was something that showed the differences were not as large as might have been thought.

Several administration officials, including Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary, spoke to the news on television about the positive tone of the talks.

He was speaking inside his country’s mission to the World Trade Organization, in Geneva. Senior Chinese officials have said recently that China would fight to the end of the trade war, even though Beijing did not want it.

After weeks of rattled financial markets, investors are likely to respond positively to this as a sign that the significant disruption to trade between the two countries could soon resume.

There is a former Australian trade negotiator who cautions against reading too much tea leaves. It’s most likely that they both agreed on what to discuss during their conversation and what topics they should talk about.