The U.S. and China have ended high stakes trade negotiations on a positive note, with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng saying "substantial progress" was made. The two-day talks in Geneva saw the first in-person meeting between top Washington and Beijing officials since Donald Trump began his second term. The U.S. president has been pursuing a sweeping global tariff policy. Though dozens of the highest U.S. tariff rates have been paused, the combined 145% levy on Chinese goods still stands.
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00:00Some hope for the world economy out of Geneva, as the U.S. and China end their first in-person talks since Donald Trump retook office on a positive note.
00:12The two superpowers have each imposed crippling tariffs that essentially amount to an embargo on trade that was worth $660 billion last year.
00:23The levies set off by U.S. President Trump's sweeping tariff policy, levies he says are needed to reduce the U.S.'s massive trade deficit with China.
00:34Now, some signs there is common ground.
00:37It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as may be thought.
00:46U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has promised details of what was agreed in the coming hours.
00:55Meanwhile, some clues from Chinese Vice Premier He Liefeng, who echoed that the talks achieved, quote, substantial progress.
01:04The chance of de-escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies brought welcome relief to markets.
01:24In Taiwan, Monday's early trading on its benchmark index went up over 200 points.
01:30Meanwhile, World Trade Organization Chief Ngonzo Okonjo-Iwiela has urged Washington and Beijing to keep the momentum up and to restore global economic order.
01:42She also said that progress is important not just for the two countries, but for the rest of the world.
01:49Many nations, including Taiwan, still face negotiations of their own with the U.S. over pending tariffs.
01:56Though the U.S. and China have moved on from weeks of insisting that the ball is in each other's court,
02:03China's He is clear that protecting Beijing's interests is still the top priority.
02:09The Chinese are not willing to fight the trade war, because the trade war is not a winner.
02:14But if the Chinese are willing to fight the trade war, to maintain our own利益, the Chinese will never be afraid of it.
02:22So far, there has been no mention of lowering existing tariff rates,
02:28but many are still waiting to see the fine print and find some clarity in what's been months of uncertainty.
02:35Hao Zhang and Joy Sen for Taiwan Plus.