United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he and Chinese Vice President He Lifeng had “detailed discussions” on US-China trade, according to a Reuters report.
In an interview with reporters on October 17, Bessent said: “Vice Premier He Lifeng and I engaged in frank and detailed discussions on trade between the United States and China.”
He added that the talks are not over. “We will meet in person next week to continue our discussions,” Bessent said.
Donald Trump calls new 100% tariffs on China ‘unsustainable’
This comes as US President Donald Trump said in an interview on October 17 that his proposed 100% additional tariff on Chinese imports would not be sustainable. He blamed China for the latest blow to trade talks over rare earth export limits.
Asked if such a high tariff was sustainable and what it could do to the US economy, Trump said: “It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number.”
“They forced me to do it,” he told Fox Business Network.
Last week, Donald Trump said he would impose additional 100 percent tariffs on China and restrict all exports of critical software from November 1.
The Trump-Xi meeting will continue as planned
In another interview with Fox Business Network on October 16, Donald Trump also confirmed that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in two weeks.
“I think we will be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It has to be fair,” he said.
WTO chief worried about trade tensions between US, US and China
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged the United States and China to de-escalate trade tensions, saying the body was “extremely concerned”.
In an interview with Reuters, she warned that the severing of ties between the world’s two largest economies could reduce global economic performance by 7 percent in the long term.
(With inputs from Reuters)
