GENEVA, May 11 (KUNA) -- The US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced on Sunday that the high-level trade talks between the United States and China had achieved "substantial progress" affirming that "great results" would be announced on Monday morning from Washington.
Speaking to reporters following the round of talks held in Geneva under the auspices of the Swiss government Bessent described the discussions as "very important" and "productive".
For his part the US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer emphasized that both sides were able to reach a "shared understanding" noting the severe US trade deficit as a key driver behind the negotiations. "The United States faces a 1.2 trillion dollar trade deficit. So the President declared a national emergency those tariffs and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving the national crisis," he said.
He added that the talks were conducted in a "spirit of cooperation shared interest and mutual respect and that he looks forward to sharing good news soon".
From the Chinese side Vice Premier of the State Council He Lifeng described the talks as "candid in-depth and constructive" according to Chinese state media.
He confirmed that "both parties had agreed to establish a China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism and will conduct further consultations on issues of mutual concern".
In a separate comment Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said there were "reasons for optimism" noting that "even a de-escalation such as suspending tariffs during ongoing negotiations would already be a success." According to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (RTS).
The high-level dialogue between the Chinese and US delegations began on Saturday morning in Geneva under the auspices of the Swiss government.
The two countries have been experiencing significant tensions in their trade relations since the US President Donald Trump announced to impose tariffs on Chinese goods raising them to 145 percent which was met with a Chinese response by increasing tariffs on US imports by up to 125 percent a trade dispute that continues to impact the global economy. (end) imk.ibi