Representatives from Beijing and Washington began economic and trade negotiations this Sunday in Paris, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
The meetings, led by United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, are expected to pave the way for the U.S. president Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping within about two weeks.
The White House stated that Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has not yet officially confirmed.
Bessent said on Thursday that his team will continue to deliver results that put American farmers, workers and businesses first.
The Ministry of Commerce of China said on Friday that the two sides would discuss “mutually beneficial trade and economic issues.”
Trump’s visit to China will be the first by a U.S. president since he visited the country during his first term in 2017.
It will come five months after the two leaders met in the South Korean city of Busan and agreed to a one-year truce in the trade war, which had led to retaliatory tariffs on both sides rising temporarily to three digits before being lowered.
