U.S. and China hail 'progress' after trade talks end in Geneva

Trade talks between the U.S. and China show progress in de-escalating tensions, sparking hope for global markets.

The United States and China on Sunday (May 11, 2025) said progress had been made after a weekend of talks aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff rollout.

The increasingly ugly trade spat between Washington and Beijing has rocked financial markets and raised fears of a global economic slowdown, and an inflationary spike in the United States.

"We've made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Geneva after the second day of discussions had concluded.

"The talks were productive," he said, taking no questions but promising a "complete briefing" Monday on the outcome of the talks.

In a statement Sunday, which did not provide any additional details, the White House hailed what it called a new "trade deal" with China.

China's Vice Premier He Lifeng told reporters the meetings had achieved "substantial progress," and described the atmosphere as "candid, in-depth and constructive," adding there were plans for a joint communique to be published Monday.

The two sides have agreed to set up a joint mechanism focused on "regular and irregular communications related to trade and commercial issues," China's international trade representative Li Chenggang said at the same briefing.