U.S.-China trade talks begin in Geneva

Can they find a way to de-escalate?

Welcome back to What’s Happening in China, your weekly China brief.

I hope you’ve had a great week.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are meeting with the PRC’s economic tsar, Vice Premier He Lifeng, this Saturday and Sunday in neutral-ground Geneva. The talks appear to be a preamble to formal negotiations, and expectations are low. According to Reuters, “Internally, China has downgraded the talks from a higher level to merely a meeting, reflecting its view that the discussions will be mostly about finding out Washington's demands and red lines after weeks of contradictory messages by Trump and other senior U.S. officials.”

Despite the PRC’s claim this week that “this meeting is requested by the U.S. side” and that its economy has “a stable foundation, numerous strengths, remarkable resilience and vast potential,” economic pain seems to have been a key factor bringing Beijing to the table.

The U.S. team is expected to press for tariff reductions…