Beijing – China’s top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, will travel to France on Saturday for talks with his U.S. counterpart, just weeks before President Donald Trump is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.
The Paris meetings, confirmed by Washington, will take place from March 14 to 17 and focus on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, though officials didn’t provide detailed agendas. The U.S. delegation will be led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, accompanied by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Bessent said on Thursday that economic dialogue between the two countries “is moving forward”, and the talks are seen as laying the groundwork for Trump’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2, which Beijing has not yet officially confirmed.
Relations between the U.S. and China have been tense since Trump began his second term in January 2025. The U.S. recently launched trade investigations into excess industrial capacity, targeting China and other key partners. China’s commerce ministry criticized these actions as “typical unilateralism” that undermines international trade rules and urged the U.S. to correct its practices.
