From May 10 to 11, local time, He Lifeng, the Chinese leader of Sino-US economic and trade, and Vice Premier of the State Council, held high-level Sino-US economic and trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland with the US leaders, US Treasury Secretary Bensont and Trade Representative Greer. The two sides had candid, in-depth and constructive communication on the implementation of the important consensus reached by the Chinese and US heads of state on January 17 this year, and reached a series of important consensus in the economic and trade fields. At 9:00 am on May 12, local time, the two sides issued the "Joint Statement of Sino-US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks". The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce made a statement on this.
The two sides reached a number of positive consensuses in the joint statement. The two sides recognize the importance of bilateral economic and trade relations to the economies of the two countries and the world, and recognize the importance of sustainable, long-term and mutually beneficial bilateral economic and trade relations. In the spirit of mutual openness, continuous communication, cooperation and mutual respect, they will continue to advance relevant work. The two sides agreed to jointly take the following measures:
The United States pledged to cancel a total of 91% of tariffs imposed on Chinese goods in accordance with Executive Order No. 14259 of April 8, 2025 and Executive Order No. 14266 of April 9, 2025, and to amend the 34% reciprocal tariffs imposed on Chinese goods in Executive Order No. 14257 of April 2, 2025, of which 24% of tariffs will be suspended for 90 days and the remaining 10% of tariffs will be retained. Accordingly, China canceled a total of 91% of the counter-tariffs imposed on US goods; in response to the 34% counter-tariffs of the US reciprocal tariffs, 24% of the tariffs were suspended for 90 days, and the remaining 10% of the tariffs were retained. China also suspended or canceled non-tariff countermeasures against the United States accordingly.
The two sides agreed to establish a Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism to maintain close communication on their respective concerns in the economic and trade fields and conduct further consultations. The Chinese representative was Vice Premier He Lifeng, and the US representative was Treasury Secretary Bessant and Trade Representative Greer. The two sides will conduct consultations regularly or irregularly in China and the United States, or in agreed third countries. As needed, the two sides may conduct working-level consultations on relevant economic and trade issues.
This Sino-US high-level economic and trade talks made substantial progress and significantly reduced the level of bilateral tariffs. The US canceled a total of 91% of the additional tariffs, and China correspondingly canceled 91% of the counter-tariffs; the US suspended the implementation of 24% of the "reciprocal tariffs", and China also suspended the implementation of 24% of the counter-tariffs accordingly. This move is in line with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries, and is in the interests of both countries and the common interests of the world. We hope that the US will build on this meeting and continue to work with China to meet each other halfway, thoroughly correct the wrong practice of unilateral tariff increases, continuously strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, maintain the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations, and jointly inject more certainty and stability into the world economy.
