US Treasury chief sees ‘big breakthrough’ ahead in China trade talks

Name: China, US finish Stockholm trade talks with divergence on timing of tariff pause extension
Uploaded: 2025-10-02T19:28:37.000Z
Duration: 2 min 7 s
Description: China, US finish Stockholm trade talks with divergence on timing of tariff pause extension

Scott Bessent points to Trump–Xi Apec pull-aside and new farmer aid as signals of progress in strained economic ties

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a White House meeting in August. Photo: EPA

Frank Chenin Washington

Published: 3:28am, 3 Oct 2025Updated: 8:36am, 21 Oct 2025

Corrected [8:30am, 21 Oct, 2025]

[8:30am, 21 Oct, 2025]
An earlier version of this article stated that Bessent had led the US team in a round of meetings with He in Zurich. That is incorrect and has been changed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday he expects coming talks with China to yield a “big breakthrough” in trade relations, adding that aid for soybean farmers could be announced as soon as Tuesday.

Bessent made the upbeat predictions during an interview with CNBC.

“The most important thing we’re going to see,” the Treasury chief offered, is a pull-aside meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at a regional summit in South Korea later this month, adding that his own trade talks with Vice-Premier He Lifeng “should show a pretty big breakthrough.”

The sanguine remarks come as the world’s two biggest economies continue their efforts to resolve issues related to tariffs and broader ties, when an extended trade war ceasefire will last until November. Washington and Beijing have agreed to dial back the triple-digit levies slapped on each other’s goods in April and May.

From Geneva, London, Stockholm to Madrid, Bessent has led the US team for four rounds of meetings with He since May. Both sides are expected to huddle again before or in early November.

02:07

China, US finish Stockholm trade talks with divergence on timing of tariff pause extension

Citing sources, the Post reported on Thursday that the US could be “very comfortable” with the current rate of tariffs since the Trump administration remains focused on collecting revenues to fix the American fiscal deficit.

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