U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN on May 11, 2025 that the administration was “optimistic that things will work out well”. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Washington expressed optimism as talks with top Chinese officials continued for a second day on Sunday (May 11, 2025) in a bid to de-escalate trade tensions sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff rollout.
As the two days of high-level negotiations in Geneva neared an end, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN on Sunday (May 11, 2025) the administration was “optimistic that things will work out well”.
That comment came after Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social following the first day of negotiations that Saturday’s (May 10, 2025) discussions had been “very good”, deeming them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.
Beijing had yet to comment on Sunday (May 11, 2025), but on Saturday (May 10, 2025) Chinese state news agency Xinhua described the talks as “an important step in promoting the resolution of the issue”.
The closed-door meetings between U.S.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are taking place at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
After taking a two-hour lunch break, the delegations returned to the discrete villa with sky-blue shutters on the left bank of Lake Geneva at around 3:30 p.m. (13:30 GMT), according to an AFP journalist on site.
Mr. Lutnick told CNN the teams were hard at work on negotiations that are “really important” for both sides, but did not provide further detail on the contents of the talks.
Tariffs ‘lose-lose’
The discussions are the first time 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 last month, sparking a robust retaliation from Beijing.
“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 told AFP, calling the tariffs a “lose-lose proposition.”
The tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump on the Asian manufacturing giant since the start of the year currently total 145%, with cumulative U.S. duties on some Chinese goods reaching a staggering 245%.
In retaliation, China put 125% tariffs on U.S. goods.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Trump signalled he might lower the tariffs, suggesting on social media that an “80% Tariff on China seems right!”
However, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified that the United States would not lower tariffs unilaterally, and that China would also need to make concessions.
Going into the meeting, both sides played down expectations of a major change in trade relations, with Bessent underlining a focus on “de-escalation” and not a “big trade deal,” and Beijing insisting the United States must ease tariffs first.
The fact the talks are even happening “is good news for business, and for the financial markets,” said Gary Hufbauer, a senior non-resident fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).
But Hufbauer cautioned he was “very sceptical that there will be any return to something like normal U.S.-China trade relations,” with even a tariff rate of 70 to 80% still potentially halving bilateral trade.
Published – May 11, 2025 11:37 pm IST
