US-China trade talks stretch 8 tense hours as Trump touts ‘reset’. Here’s what happened

President Donald Trump on Saturday declared a "total reset" in U.S.-China trade relations after high-stakes talks in Switzerland, calling the closed-door meeting “friendly, but constructive.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the Geneva negotiations as “a very good meeting” and claimed “great progress” had been made, though he gave no details. “We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business,” he wrote.

The talks, held at the Swiss ambassador’s lakeside residence in Cologny, marked the first direct encounter between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng since a tit-for-tat tariff war escalated earlier this year.

After an eight-hour session, no joint statement or specific concessions were announced. Discussions are set to resume Sunday, according to a source close to the matter.

The stakes are high. Trump has hiked tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, triggering Chinese retaliation of up to 125% and freezing nearly $600 billion in trade. Beijing has slammed Washington’s moves as “reckless abuse of tariffs,” while seeking a 90-day waiver similar to deals the U.S. has offered other nations during negotiations.

Despite the lack of breakthroughs, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin praised the mere occurrence of the meeting as “already a success.”

China, which denies initiating the talks, continues to reject what it calls U.S. interference in its economic policy. In a Saturday commentary, the official Xinhua News Agency said China’s “determination to safeguard its development interests is unshakable.”

Trump on Friday floated a possible rollback to 80% tariffs—his first concrete suggestion of a compromise—but analysts remain skeptical. “Expectations are low,” Parmelin admitted.

China’s He is also expected to meet World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala before leaving Geneva, signaling an international push to de-escalate.