US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Paris at the OECD headquarters to hash out trade issues between the world's two largest economies. The discussions are seen as setting the stage for an expected summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing later this month, although Beijing has yet to confirm the dates in line with its usual practice.

The talks are expected to focus on shifting US tariffs, the flow of Chinese-produced rare earth minerals and magnets to US buyers, the US's high-tech export controls, and Chinese purchases of US agricultural products. The two nations engaged in a bruising trade war for much of 2025, with reciprocal tariffs reaching triple digits at one point, threatening to wreck global supply chains for critical minerals.

The diplomatic engagements occur against a backdrop of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has sent energy markets spinning, spiked oil prices, and raised concerns over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a vital chokepoint through which China receives 45% of its oil. Bessent announced a 30-day waiver of sanctions to allow the sale of Russian oil stranded at sea, a move purportedly aimed at stabilizing markets disrupted by the conflict.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency claimed that meaningful progress in Sino-US economic cooperation could restore confidence to an increasingly fragile global economy. However, trade analysts note that with limited preparation time and Washington's attention focused on the war with Iran, prospects for a significant breakthrough in the Paris talks are slim, with the primary goal being to avoid a re-escalation of tensions.

Source: www.aljazeera.com