US Treasury's Bessent to meet Chinese vice premier in France ahead of Trump-Xi summit

By David Lawder

March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in France from March 15 to March 16, the Treasury Department said on Thursday as the two sides prepare for U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March.

"This weekend, I will again meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng to continue the U.S.-China trade and economic dialogue in Paris, France," Bessent said in a post on X.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also will participate in the meetings, an official from his office said. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Treasury provided no details about the Trump administration's objectives for the Paris meetings, the latest in a series of dialogues in European cities in recent months between Bessent, Greer, He and Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang.

The four officials last year negotiated a U.S.-China trade truce after Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports that prompted tit-for-tat escalation by China and the imposition of draconian export controls on Chinese-produced rare earth minerals and magnets that threatened to bring U.S. high-tech industries to a standstill.

The truce brought Trump's new emergency tariff rate down to about 20% for Chinese goods and partially restored the rare earths supplies. It was largely extended until November, after the leaders met last year in South Korea, but the U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled Trump's emergency tariffs illegal.

The meeting may provide some clarity on the path forward for tariffs, as the U.S. has reimposed a new 10% tariff on global imports under a law meant to resolve balance of payments issues.

Bessent said in a statement that due to mutual respect between Trump and Xi, "the trade and economic dialogue between the United States and China is moving forward."