China and U.S. negotiators set for weekend trade talks in Geneva
發佈日期: 2025-05-07 19:30
TVB News
Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this weekend in Geneva for trade talks. Washington announced the planned meeting late on Tuesday, triggering a rise in stock markets in mainland China and Hong Kong. The U.S. has imposed up to 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods while Beijing responded by slapping 125 percent levies on U.S. products.
U.S. President Donald Trump said China wanted these talks but Beijing insists they are at the request of Washington.
Vice Premier He Lifeng, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
These are the two men who may provide the breakthrough for U.S.-China trade relations.
Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer are expected to meet He in Geneva this weekend for talks that may provide the platform for resolving a trade war that is playing havoc with the global economy.
It comes after weeks of tensions that have seen massive tariffs imposed on Chinese goods imported into the U.S.
And retaliatory tariffs from China on a variety of American products.
U.S. President Donald Trump has long said they were talking to China, a scenario Beijing denies.
But the Geneva meeting is something China acknowledges.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference on Wednesday that the meeting was at the request of the U.S. and that China is open to balanced dialogue.
He insisted that China has not softened its stance on tariffs, saying it firmly opposes indiscriminate levies by the U.S. and that Beijing's position has not changed.
Trump, speaking to the press at the Oval Office while seated next to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said China needs the meeting more than the U.S.
Trump said: "And, you know, we lost a trillion dollars to China on trade because of an incompetent president that we had who proceeded me, grossly incompetent, you're finding it out more and more now. And by not trading, we're losing nothing. So we're saving a trillion dollars, it's a lot. But they want to negotiate, and they want to have a meeting, and we'll be meeting with them at the right time."
He noted, "Look, they're suffering greatly, their economy is suffering greatly, because they're not doing trade with the U.S. And they made most of their money off the U.S. Don't kid yourself. They don't make the money off other countries like this. They have to sign deals with us. They want a piece of our market. We don't want a piece of their market. We don't care about their market. They want piece of our market."
