US China talks to defuse trade row resume in Geneva

GENEVA – Talks between top US and Chinese officials resumed for a second day on May 11 after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism over negotiations aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff roll-out.

In a Truth Social post following a first day of talks in Geneva on May 10, Mr Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.

Earlier, Chinese state news agency Xinhua also described the talks in Switzerland as “an important step in promoting the resolution of the issue”.

The second day of closed-door meetings between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng resumed shortly after 10am (4pm Singapore time) on May 11.

As on May 10, the talks took place at the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, a discrete villa with sky-blue shutters near a large park on the left bank of Lake Geneva.

“These talks reflect that the current state of the trade relations with these extremely high tariffs is ultimately in the interests of neither the United States nor China,” Citigroup global chief economist Nathan Sheets said, calling the tariffs a “lose-lose proposition”.

‘Good news’

The discussions are the first time that senior officials from the world’s two largest economies have met face to face to tackle the thorny topic of trade since Mr Trump slapped steep new levies on China in April, sparking a robust retaliation from Beijing.

The tariffs imposed by Mr Trump on the Asian manufacturing giant since the start of 2025 currently total 145 per cent, with cumulative US duties on some Chinese goods reaching a staggering 245 per cent.

In retaliation, China put 125 per cent tariffs on US goods.