‘No quick cosmetic fix’ for China at US trade talks
China is looking for substantive progress at the Geneva negotiations, contradicting Donald Trump’s claims of a “total reset” in trade relations. Jessica SierNorth Asia correspondent
May 11, 2025 – 2.46pm
Tokyo | After eight hours of negotiations in an 18th-century villa on Lake Geneva’s shores, US and Chinese officials emerged with no public deal and only a commitment to keep talking for at least a second day.
Donald Trump claimed a “total reset” in trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies following the talks aimed at starting to walk back sky-high tariffs that have roiled markets and threatened the global economy.
But experts are far more circumspect, saying China is determined at these Geneva talks to make substantive progress, rather than announce a quick-fix – a scenario that takes time and effort.
“The two sides are barely in the foothills of beginning negotiations let alone approaching a deal,” said Richard McGregor, a China expert and senior fellow at the Lowy Institute.
With tensions and mistrust high heading into the talks, expectations of a breakthrough deal have been low. After Saturday’s meetings, Chinese official media reiterated calls for the US to actually lift its tariffs on exports from the country to show its “sincerity”.
“High-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States began in Geneva,” state news agency Xinhua said, without providing any details. Fentanyl crisis key
Beijing has shown signs of willingness to address key US issues, including the fentanyl crisis, which the Trump administration blames on China for exporting chemicals used to make the drug.
China’s President Xi Jinping has dispatched top public security aid Wang Xiaohong to Geneva. The close lieutenant has reportedly been the point person in Beijing’s recent discussions with Washington over how to address Trump’s concerns about China’s role in the fentanyl trade.
Wang joins Chinese vice premier and trusted Xi aide He Lifeng in leading the Chinese delegation. They met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the tariffs bringing nearly $US600 billion ($994 billion) in bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.
Beijing has shown readiness to step up enforcement against the export of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. But US officials remain sceptical. They claim that past pledges have been undermined by inconsistent implementation, and any future agreement will likely require verifiable benchmarks.
American negotiators are pushing for hard guarantees and visible crackdowns – something far more comprehensive than symbolic arrests or regulatory tightening. In short, the fentanyl issue may be a door-opener, but it’s no panacea. 80 per cent cut is not enough
The larger and more politically intractable issue remains tariffs. Since January, Trump has imposed 145 per cent duties on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with 125 per cent tariffs on US goods. While Trump floated the idea of reducing tariffs to 80 per cent on Friday – a gesture he described as generous – it’s far from the sort of rollback that would satisfy Beijing.
Chinese negotiators have made clear that unless there is substantial movement on tariffs, they will not entertain serious discussions on broader trade liberalisation.
Beijing’s posture echoes that of Tokyo. Japanese officials, who have now completed two rounds of their own trade negotiations with the US, refused to entertain a quick deal without resolving their core concerns – namely, auto tariffs.
“The Japanese didn’t go over there and try to cut a quick deal without their core objections being addressed, in their case, auto tariffs,” McGregor said.
“The same goes for China. They’re not looking for a quick cosmetic fix, perhaps because, deep down, they know there isn’t one to be had. But in the meantime, they’re demanding something more substantial than Washington appears willing to offer.” Leverage to pressure China
While American negotiators frame the tariffs as leverage to pressure China into addressing longstanding complaints about industrial policy, market access, and intellectual property protections, Beijing views the measures as ways to curb its expansion towards superpower status.
China appears willing to wait out Washington in the escalating trade standoff, betting that economic pain will hit the US harder and faster. China’s central bank last week slashed interest rates and announced other measures to support the economy, which is starting to hurt from the tariffs. These moves suggest Beijing is preparing for a protracted economic confrontation.
The underlying lesson from Geneva is not that diplomacy has failed, but that neither side came prepared to make a deal. Instead, the meetings are serving to establish baselines, test the mood, and explore side issues such as fentanyl that can be used to build limited confidence.
As a result, officials have described the talks so far as “constructive”.
Swiss Economic Minister Guy Parmelin, who met both parties in Geneva on Friday, went further, saying the fact that talks were taking place at all was a success.
“If a road map can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions,” he told reporters, saying talks could continue even into Monday.
...if any indication, BTC's early exuberance over Trump's optimistic remark has waned. There is no deal to speak of.
...we would never know what China told Team Trump because they won't tell us. But my guess is that they will indicate that they are prepared to endure the pain longer than possibly US is, and that if US wants to resolve it for their own good as well, they need to reverse the tariffs.
