Switzerland to Host US-China Trade Talks

(Patria) - Senior US trade officials will hold talks with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this week, the White House has confirmed.

It will be the first in-person meeting of high-level US and Chinese officials since US President Donald Trump escalated the trade war between the two countries, Euronews reports.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with a Chinese delegation that includes Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

These talks come after Trump shook the global economy on April 2 by announcing broad tariffs. China was the hardest hit by these measures.

The US currently applies tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese goods, while Chinese countermeasures stand at 125 percent. However, both sides have allowed certain exceptions to mitigate the impact.

Despite this, both the US and China are feeling the consequences - trade between the world's two largest economies has declined significantly.

Forecasters warn of the possibility that the US could enter a recession, while Chinese industrial production in April fell to its lowest level since December 2023.