Top U.S. officials emerge from China trade talks touting ‘substantial progress’ and ‘deal’

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, left, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, left, speak to the press after the second day of a bilateral meeting between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11. Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP via CNN Newsource

Top U.S. officials involved in high-level trade negotiations with China emerged from two days of talks touting “substantial progress” and appearing to confirm that a deal between the two countries had been reached, which could have massive implications for the global economy.

“I’m happy to report that we’ve made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a brief statement Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, where the talks were held, calling the negotiations “productive.”

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that an agreement had been reached Sunday, after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping 145 per cent tariffs on most Chinese goods last month. China retaliated with 125 per cent on U.S. goods.

“The president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to resolve work toward resolving that national emergency,” Greer said.

He added, “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.”

CNN has asked the Treasury Department for clarification on the deal, though Bessent said details will be shared Monday morning. Ahead of the talks, Trump administration officials downplayed expectations that a deal would be reached this weekend, characterizing the meetings as a good first step. Bessent had suggested last week that his goal was de-escalation of tensions, as the U.S. and China have been at a virtual stalemate since Trump imposed his tariff policy.

“These are very tough negotiators,” Greer said of his Chinese counterparts, saying the group “worked very diligently” and the last two days were “very constructive.”

Bessent said he and Greer, who did not take questions from the press, have briefed Trump, who he described as “fully informed.”

Trump indicated ahead of the talks that he was willing to lower the tariff rate on China to 80 per cent, saying in a post to social media that it was “up to Scott B.,” referring to Bessent. The White House later clarified that China also needed to make concessions.

The U.S. and China made “substantial progress” and reached an “important consensus” in their trade talks, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said Sunday.

He described the discussions as “candid, in-depth and constructive,” saying both sides agreed to establish a “trade consultation mechanism” and would conduct further consultations.

“China and the United States will finalize the relevant details as soon as possible and will issue a joint statement reached at the talks on May 12,” a readout from the Chinese delegation said.

The weekend talks marked a significant step toward thawing U.S.-China trade relations.

The current 145 per cent tariff rate has sent shipments from China into the United States plunging by 60 per cent, according to Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a logistics and freight forwarding broker.

Even reducing that tariff rate by half might not be enough to change trade levels significantly. Economists have said 50 per cent is the make-or-break threshold for the return of somewhat normal business between the two countries.

The combination of fewer goods coming in and increased costs on imports that do arrive has already started pushing up prices for Americans. Goldman Sachs analysts said Thursday that a key measure of inflation would effectively double to 4 per cent by the year’s end because of Trump’s trade war.

And with ships carrying goods under the 145 per cent tariffs now coming into port, a trade deal wouldn’t lower prices immediately.

To say Americans depend on a wide range of Chinese goods understates how pervasive those goods have become in all our lives. Footwear, clothes, appliances, microchips, baby goods, toys, sports equipment, office machine parts and much more all pour into the United States from China in staggering numbers.

But now those imports are decreasing. Imports into the United States during the second half of 2025 are expected to fall at least 20 per cent year over year, according to the National Retail Federation. The decline from China will be even starker: JPMorgan expects a 75 per cent to 80 per cent drop in imports from there.

The trade war has already affected the U.S. economy. The nation’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the U.S. economy, showed America’s first quarterly contraction since early 2022, as importers raced to bring in goods before punishing tariff rates kicked in.

The impact of the sky-high tariffs is also being felt keenly in China, whose exports to the U.S. fell sharply in April. Chinese outbound shipments to the U.S. stood at $33 billion last month — a whopping 21 per cent decline from the $41.8 billion recorded in April 2024, according to CNN’s calculation.

Steep U.S. tariffs also took a heavy toll on China’s manufacturing sector. Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in 16 months in April, adding urgency to Beijing’s efforts to roll out fresh economic stimulus.

The news that Bessent and Greer would meet their Chinese counterparts in Geneva raised hopes of a thaw between the two nations. The U.S. and China are the world’s largest and second-largest economies, respectively, bigger than even the next 20 economies put together, according to World Bank data.

Trump also told a conservative radio host on Wednesday that he would raise the case of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai “as part of the negotiation.” Lai, a pugnacious former publisher whose now-shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, is in the midst of a national security trial that could send him to prison for life.

It’s unclear whether U.S. officials brought up Lai in talks with their Chinese counterparts.

This story has been updated with additional details.

Article by Betsy Klein.

CNN’s David Goldman, Nathaniel Meyersohn, Shawn Deng and Michael Rios contributed to this report.