U.S. and China cite progress in trade talks but release few details

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.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday evening that the two sides had made what he called “substantial progress,” but that 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.

The next concrete steps will include the creation of a new consultation mechanism that will involve senior officials from both countries, He said.

The discussions started early Saturday morning in a villa owned by the Swiss government, with sweeping views of a sun-lashed Lake Geneva. On the villa’s front steps late Sunday, Bessent described the conversations as “productive,” and said that President Trump had been kept up to date with developments.

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.

“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement,” said Greer. It was something, he said, “which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as far as maybe thought.”

Several Trump administration officials still in Washington, including Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, had also spoken on television Sunday morning about the positive tone of the talks.

But He, as the senior Chinese official leading his delegation, acknowledged that sources of friction remained, while describing the conversations as collegial and professional throughout the course of the weekend.

“The atmosphere of the meeting was candid, in-depth and constructive,” he said. “The meeting achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”

He was speaking inside his country’s mission to the World Trade Organization, in Geneva. He said Beijing had not wanted the trade war that President Trump created, but China was not afraid and would fight to the end — a stance that senior Chinese officials have repeated several times in recent weeks.

After weeks of frazzled financial markets, investors are likely to react positively to this development as a sign that the significant disruption to trade between the two countries could soon resume, with improved economic consequences.

But businesses worldwide will want much more detail before making any decisions, and – after just two days of talks — this is far from a done deal.

“I would caution against too much reading of the tea leaves,” according to Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator based in Geneva. “It’s probably more likely that they agreed on what their conversation should cover — on what are the kind of things they are both prepared to discuss.

Both countries have said their officials will make further appearances Monday morning in Geneva.