Top officials meet in South Korea as both sides move to ease tensions after tariff war….
Senior officials from the United States and China held fresh trade discussions in South Korea on Wednesday, just hours before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua, the talks took place at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, although details of the meeting were not immediately disclosed.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, with both officials having previously led several rounds of negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
The latest discussions are widely seen as part of efforts to finalise key economic agreements and prepare the groundwork for announcements that could emerge from the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in China.
The renewed diplomatic engagement comes after years of escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Last year, both countries imposed aggressive retaliatory tariffs on each other’s goods, with some duties climbing beyond 100 per cent as the trade war intensified.
However, tensions eased slightly after Trump and Xi agreed to a one-year trade truce during talks held in South Korea in October.
Ahead of the latest negotiations, Bessent emphasised the strategic importance of economic policy, stating that “economic security is national security” while announcing his trip to South Korea.
Following the talks in Seoul, the US Treasury Secretary is expected to travel to Beijing alongside President Trump for the bilateral summit with Xi.
The visit has also attracted major figures from the global business community.
Several high-profile American executives are reportedly joining the US delegation to China, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla chief Elon Musk.
The presence of leading technology and manufacturing executives highlights the growing importance of trade, artificial intelligence, semiconductor policy and industrial cooperation in ongoing US-China relations.
Analysts say global markets will be closely watching the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit for signals on tariffs, technology restrictions, supply chains and broader economic cooperation between both nations.
