Treasury Secretary Scott Becent mentioned on Monday that he plans to pursue further trade discussions with Chinese officials following a recent meeting in Geneva. However, he didn’t indicate a specific timeline beyond the agreed 90-day suspension on mutual tariffs that was decided over the weekend.
“We’ve made significant progress over two days, so I expect we’ll reconvene in the coming weeks with a more comprehensive agreement,” Becent stated during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Becent, along with other officials from both nations, gathered in neutral locations over the weekend to explore how to advance negotiations after a period of intense discussions regarding President Trump’s adjusted tariff rates.
“We had a structured approach, and what we have now with the Chinese is a way to prevent the kind of tariff increases we experienced last time,” he remarked while still in Switzerland during the interview.
In addressing the current trade negotiations, Becent noted that discussions with China have been consistently respectful and they’ve established a “conference mechanism” to facilitate future dialogue.
“We aimed to pinpoint shared interests,” he explained. “We presented a list of issues we wanted to address, and I think we made notable progress on that.”
Still, Becent acknowledged there are unresolved challenges, particularly around the obstacles American companies encounter when navigating business in China.
“The 90-day suspension is intended to provide us with a window to tackle these non-tariff barriers,” he clarified.
The U.S. and China released a joint statement on Monday, indicating that Becent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the U.S. in upcoming negotiations over the next three months, while China’s deputy prime minister, Lifeng, will represent his country.
“These discussions may alternate between China and the U.S. or occur in a third country based on mutual agreement. If needed, both sides may conduct working-level consultations on relevant economic and trade matters,” the statement explained.
Trump first signaled optimism regarding the negotiations in a social media post over the weekend, suggesting the potential for a “total reset.”
“Today was a very productive meeting with China in Switzerland. A lot was discussed and many agreements were reached. The complete reset was negotiated in a constructive atmosphere. We hope to see more openness from China for American businesses, benefiting both nations,” he noted.
