What Will Be on the Table in the First Round of U.S.-China Trade Talks? Bessent: Expectations Exceed Agreements

TradingKey – On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, both China and the United States officially confirmed that their first round of tariff and trade negotiations will take place this weekend. This marks the first step toward thawing U.S.-China trade tensions since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to Bloomberg, this high-level meeting—confirmed by both sides on Tuesday—is the first official trade negotiation since Trump announced tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods, prompting retaliatory tariffs of up to 125% from China.

Prior to this, the two countries had been locked in a tense standoff over escalating tariffs. Although Trump later softened his stance, indicating he was willing to "significantly" reduce tariffs and repeatedly signaling openness to talks, his inconsistent messaging has led Beijing to remain cautious. Earlier suggestions of ongoing negotiations were seen by some in China as little more than Trump’s “one-sided narrative.”

Details of the specific agenda for the talks remain unclear. However, Treasury Secretary Bessent has sent positive signals ahead of the meeting, noting that both sides share common interests and that high tariffs are not sustainable in the long run.

Nonetheless, Bessent also emphasized that the purpose of this meeting is primarily to de-escalate tensions—not about the big trade deal. “We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward,” he said.

Experts suggest that any final trade deal between the two economic giants could take months—if not longer—to finalize.

A former U.S. trade official noted that while renewed engagement between Washington and Beijing is necessary, the significance of this newly announced high-level meeting may actually exceed expectations.

In light of the potential easing of trade tensions, U.S. stock index futures rose across the board on Wednesday morning (May 7), gold prices (XAU/USD) fell nearly 1.5% during Asian trading hours, and WTI crude oil prices edged up close to 1%.