The U.S.-China trade war in Switzerland ended on a positive note: “It’s hard to work at the end of it all,” said Bessent

GENEVA — Negotiating teams from both the U.S. and China have ended two days of trade talks in Switzerland on a positive note, amid severe tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday evening that the two sides had made what he called “substantial progress,” but that more details would be announced Monday.

Although He, the senior Chinese official leading his delegation acknowledged that there were sources of difficulty, he explained the conversations as professional and friendly throughout the weekend.

The discussions started early Saturday morning in a villa owned by the Swiss government, with sweeping views of a sun-lashed Lake Geneva. On the villa’s front steps late Sunday, Bessent described the conversations as “productive,” and said that President Trump had been kept up to date with developments.

U.S. Trade Presentative Jamieson Greer, who joined Bessent as part of the U.S. delegation, meanwhile highlighted the speed at which both sides had found common ground.

“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement,” said Greer. He said it was something and that it reflected that the differences were not as large as thought.

Several Trump administration officials still in Washington, including Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, had also spoken on television Sunday morning about the positive tone of the talks.

He was speaking inside his country’s mission to the World Trade Organization, in Geneva. Senior Chinese officials have repeated in recent weeks that they are not afraid and will fight the end of the trade war, even though Beijing did not want it.

The Good, the Bad and the U.S. — China Trade War: How Do They Agree? “Are We Going to Bin the China-US Trade Agreement?” (Extended Abstract)

After weeks of frazzled financial markets, investors are likely to react positively to this development as a sign that the significant disruption to trade between the two countries could soon resume, with improved economic consequences.

Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator, cautions against too much reading of tea leaves. “It’s probably more likely that they agreed on what their conversation should cover — on what are the kind of things they are both prepared to discuss.

“Are we going to rebalance the fundamental nature of the global economy in which China is a massive manufacturing hub and the US is a consumption economy? No, I don’t think so,” said Dmitry Grozoubinski, executive director of Geneva Trade Platform and a former Australian diplomat and trade negotiator. There are some things that both sides can do for each other that will make them happy. Sure, there absolutely must be.”

The U.S. says it is now negotiating for China to purchase more American goods, a throwback to a trade deal the Trump administration negotiated with China during another trade war in 2020. However, China ended up purchasing none of the additional $200 billion in goods that the U.S. said they would.

The Chinese-American Trade Agreement After the Decay of the Singly-Breakened Base Tariffs on Hadron and Molecule Products

“While the Chamber is encouraged by the decision, there is still a lot of uncertainty,” said Jens Eskelund, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. “Businesses need predictability to maintain normal operations and make investment decisions.”

The new American tariffs are a mix of a 10% and a 20% base tariffs, which is in addition to the previously imposed 20% base tariffs.

“Neither side wants a decoupling,” said Bessent “We do want trade, we want more balanced trade, and I think both sides are committed to achieving that.”

The Chinese came to deal this week and they have also agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to address trade issues going forward.

American levies on Chinese goods will drop from at least 145% to a base levy of 30% for an initial period of 90 days, while Chinese levies are set to fall from at least 125% to 10% on American goods.

The talks were led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier He Lifeng and on the U.S. side by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

At the press conference on Monday, Bessent said that they both have an interest in balanced trade. There is a ” positive path forward” for the countries working to address heroin and opium production.

“China always seeks win-WIN outcomes in its trade and economic negotiations, as well as in the development of China’s own,” said Li Chenggang, a diplomat with China’s commerce ministry.

The atmosphere of the meeting was “candid, in-depth, and constructive”, Vice Prime Minister He said at the press conference after the meeting.