US officials confirm progress in talks with China

May 12, 2025 (MLN): The United States and China have made notable strides in their ongoing trade negotiations, according to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

He stated, “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks.” Bessent also extended appreciation to the host country:

“The Swiss government has been very kind in providing us this wonderful venue, and I think that led to a great deal of productivity we’ve seen.”

He announced that further details will be shared soon: “We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive.”

Key figures involved in the talks included Chinese officials at the vice premier and vice minister levels, along with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

“We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself,” Bessent said. Both Bessent and Greer updated President Trump directly:

“I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on.”

Ambassador Greer described the negotiations as highly constructive.

“This was, as the Secretary pointed out, a very constructive two days,” he said. He noted the rapid progress:

“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought.” Greer credited prior preparations for the success:

“That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days.”

He highlighted the underlying motivation for the talks: “Just remember why we’re here in the first place the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs.” Greer concluded with confidence in the results: “

We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency.”

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