Paris talks lay groundwork for crucial Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing

  Top American and Chinese economic officials concluded the first day of trade talks in Paris on Sunday after meeting for more than six hours at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the session ended at 6:00 PM, with negotiations scheduled to resume on Monday morning.  

The economic and trade discussions, which began Sunday, pave the way for an upcoming state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing to meet Chinese Leader Xi Jinping in approximately two weeks. This will mark the first visit by a U.S. president to China since Trump’s trip during his first term in 2017. It follows a meeting between the two leaders five months ago in Busan, South Korea, where they agreed on a one-year truce in a trade war that saw reciprocal tariffs temporarily surge into triple digits before both sides pulled back.

However, trade remains a source of tension. On Friday, the Ministry of Commerce responded to a new Trump administration trade investigation covering 16 trading partners, including China. This probe, which followed a Supreme Court decision to strike down the universal blanket tariffs imposed by Trump last year, could clear the path for new duties.

Other issues potentially on the agenda include the Iranian war, amid escalating global concerns over oil prices and supplies. On Saturday, Trump stated his hope that China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and other nations would deploy warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz "open and safe." Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis and a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, noted prior to Sunday's talks that the Paris meeting is likely the most significant bilateral engagement before the Xi-Trump summit.