Bessent hopeful future US-China trade talks will lay groundwork for ‘more fulsome agreement’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that he expects to continue trade negotiations with Chinese officials after meeting in Geneva, though he offered no timeline beyond the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs that was hashed out over the weekend.

“We got a lot done over two days, so I would imagine in the next few weeks we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement,” Bessent said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Bessent and other officials from both countries huddled at the neutral location over the weekend to discuss a way forward following President Trump’s sweeping tariff overhaul in April and weeks of escalation and tension.

“We had a plan, we had a process, and now what we have with the Chinese is a mechanism to avoid an upward tariff pressure, like we did last time,” said Bessent, who was still in Switzerland during the CNBC interview.

The Treasury secretary, whom Trump designated as his point person on the discussions, described the U.S.-China trade talks as “always respectful” and noted that they established a “meeting mechanism” for future discussions.

“We tried to identify shared interest,” he said. “We came with a list of problems that we were trying to solve, and I think we did a good job on that.”

But Bessent also acknowledged issues that the countries haven’t resolved, including hurdles that American companies face when they try to do business in China.

“That’s the purpose of the 90-day pause to see what we can do and work on these non-tariff barriers,” he said.

The U.S. and China released a joint statement on Monday that said Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the U.S. in continued trade talks over the next three months, and Vice Premier of the State Council, He Lifeng, will represent China.

“These discussions may be conducted alternately in China and the United States, or a third country upon agreement of the Parties. As required, the two sides may conduct working-level consultations on relevant economic and trade issues,” statement read.

Trump first hinted at progress in the negotiations in a Saturday social media post touting a possible “total reset.”

“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he wrote in a Truth Social post.