New Round of US-China Trade Talks Set for Paris

(MENAFN) The United States and China are preparing for another high-stakes round of trade diplomacy, with senior officials from both nations set to convene in Paris next week — just days before President Donald Trump is due to touch down in Beijing.

Delegations helmed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will sit across the negotiating table in the French capital to hash out trade and investment arrangements spanning tariffs, investment, soybeans, and rare earths, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.

The White House confirmed Trump is scheduled to visit China from March 31 to April 2 — his first trip to the country since reclaiming the presidency in January 2025. Beijing, however, has stopped short of formally endorsing the timeline, stating only that both sides “have maintained communication at all levels.”

The Paris meeting — for which the South China Morning Post noted the date and venue remain subject to change — would constitute the sixth consecutive round of bilateral trade negotiations since Trump ignited a sweeping tariff war in April last year. Prior sessions were held across Geneva, London, Stockholm, Madrid, and Kuala Lumpur, a diplomatic circuit that has progressively unwound punishing triple-digit tariffs imposed by both sides.

On the sidelines of those negotiations, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first face-to-face meeting last year in South Korea, laying groundwork for what both governments have framed as a recalibration of the world’s most consequential bilateral trade relationship.

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