President Donald Trump announced Monday that he may speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of the week, following a significant breakthrough in trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials over the weekend. The remarks came during a White House event, where Trump signed an executive order before departing for the Middle East.
“They were very happy to be able to do something with us. And the relationship is very, very good. I’ll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week,” Trump told reporters.
Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese officials in Geneva, Switzerland, for high-level trade talks. The negotiations resulted in a 90-day reduction in tariffs by 115 percent—though a 10 percent baseline tariff will remain in effect. Key sectors like automobiles, steel, aluminum, and pharmaceuticals are excluded from this reduction, Trump clarified.
The temporary tariff cut is expected to create room for both sides to address deeper structural issues in their economic relationship. “The discussions in Geneva were very friendly,” Trump emphasized, signaling a positive tone in ongoing dialogue with Beijing.
Greer, who played a leading role in the negotiations, highlighted the efficiency of the agreement. “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,” he said Sunday. He added that the framework would assist in addressing what Trump previously declared a “national emergency” in trade imbalance.
This agreement represents the second major trade development under Trump in recent weeks. Just days earlier, the president and newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a bilateral trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom.
With U.S.-China tensions easing and momentum building for transatlantic cooperation, Trump’s economic team is eyeing further breakthroughs in global trade policy ahead of the summer.
