US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy.
The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said.
Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public.
Photo: AFP
Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is hope that the two countries would scale back the massive taxes — tariffs — they have slapped on each other’s goods, a move that would relieve world financial markets and companies on both sides of the Pacific Ocean that depend on US-China trade.
US President Donald Trump last month raised US tariffs on China to a combined 145 percent, and China retaliated by hitting US imports with a 125 percent levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries’ boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped US$660 billion.
Even before the talks began, Trump on Friday suggested that the US could lower its tariffs on China, writing on social media that a “80% Tariff seems right! Up to Scott [Bessent].”
Sun Yun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said that it would be the first time He and Bessent have talked. She doubts the Geneva meeting would produce any substantive results.
“The best scenario is for the two sides to agree to de-escalate on the ... tariffs at the same time,” she said, adding that even a small reduction would send a positive signal.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has aggressively used tariffs as his favorite economic weapon, and has imposed a 10 percent tax on imports from almost every country in the world.
The dispute with China has been the most intense. His tariffs on China include a 20 percent charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US. The remaining 125 percent involve a dispute that dates back to Trump’s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then, which means the total tariffs on some Chinese goods can exceed the 145 percent.
During Trump’s first term, the US alleged that China uses unfair tactics to give itself an edge in advanced technologies such as quantum computing and driverless cars.
Those issues were never fully resolved, and the fight over China’s tech policy now resumes.
Trump is also agitated by the US’ massive trade deficit with China, which came to US$263 billion last year.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting