U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on May 12 that the U.S. and China have established a formal communication mechanism through their latest meeting, and are expected to meet again in the coming weeks to push for a larger trade agreement. He emphasized that this agreement will be based on the 90-day tariff suspension to further ease trade friction and pave the way for future economic and trade cooperation.
"I would imagine that in the next few weeks to work, we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box.
However, Bessent also revealed that the details and location of the next round of talks between the two sides have yet to be finalized. The comments come just days after the U.S. and China announced they had reached a 90-day tariff pause, and markets are watching to see if more constructive economic and trade cooperation will follow.
Bessent also confirmed that he was joined by U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer at last weekend's talks in Switzerland, a sign of the importance the U.S. attaches to the talks.
Bessent also pointed out that the U.S. and China have established a "mechanism to avoid further tariff pressure" and will continue to manage trade frictions through negotiations in the future, paving the way for a larger agreement. He also said that through this mechanism, the two sides have established a formal communication channel to pave the way for a larger trade agreement.
Bessent further revealed that the two sides had "very long and in-depth discussions" on the fentanyl issue during the talks, emphasizing that China now takes seriously the issue of helping the U.S. curb the inflow of fentanyl precursor chemicals.
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