A New Era in the Trump-China Trade War

President Donald Trump’s global trade war enters a new era this weekend, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer kick off talks in Switzerland with China’s top economic official.

The high-stakes discussions – seemingly the first significant person-to-person talks since Trump imposed tariffs of 145% on Chinese goods earlier this year and Beijing retaliated with duties of 125% on American products – come as those tariffs threaten to smother Sino-U.S. commerce. They aren’t expected to yield a major breakthrough as each side insists the other has more to lose from a protracted feud.

But with the new tariffs expected to bite this month, investors as well as producers dependent on imports from the other side will be watching closely for signs of a thaw that might limit how much prices rise and avert the prospects of empty shelves in America.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is thought to be the official leading the delegation from Beijing.

For weeks, Trump insisted it was up to Beijing to make the first move, ideally with a phone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping. China, meanwhile, said negotiations wouldn’t start until the U.S. made tariff concessions.

At one point, the president was saying direct contact with China on trade was happening “every day,” Bessent was saying talks had “not yet” begun, and the Chinese government was turning Trump’s own words against him, saying any idea that formal discussions on tariffs had started was “fake news.”