
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks on Sunday (May 11) between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout.
In a Truth Social post early Sunday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.
Trump added: “We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!”
He did not elaborate on the progress.
The second day of closed-door meetings between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is due to restart in the morning, according to an individual familiar with the talks who was not authorised to speak publicly.
“These talks reflect that the current state of the trade relations with these extremely high tariffs is ultimately in the interests of neither the United States nor China,” Citigroup global chief economist Nathan Sheets told AFP.
The discussions are the first time senior officials from the world’s two largest economies have met face-to-face to tackle the thorny topic of trade since Trump slapped steep new levies on China last month, sparking robust retaliation from Beijing.