March 16, 2026 | 07:21 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Top trade officials from the US and China were set to conclude their two-day summit in Paris on Monday, with officials telling Reuters news agency that the discussions had been "remarkably stable" despite barbs from both camps on the sidelines of the talks.
Earlier in the day, French news agency AFP reported that Beijing had accused Washington of "erroneous" claims that China tacitly condones forced labor. The US has even launched an official investigation into the matter. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the probe was "discriminatory" and nothing more than an attempt at "trade manipulation."
At the same time, President Donald Trump threatened to delay a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping planned for later this month unless Xi agrees to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the key waterway for oil tankers has come to an almost complete standstill due to the US and Israel-led war on Iran. Beijing relies on oil from the Middle East for much of its energy.
Trade Talks Run Smoothly
However, it appeared that the talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris were relatively undramatic. Sources told Reuters that China appeared open to further agricultural orders from the US, having already agreed on 25 million metric tons of American soybeans for each of the next three years in a bid to avoid massive tariffs.
The pair were also joined by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang. The groups discussed proposals for a US-China "Board of Trade" and "Board of Investment" to balance trade between the world's two largest economies, as well as the flow of Chinese rare earth minerals to US companies.
Greer and Bessent also said ahead of the talks that they planned to press Chinese representatives over orders of Boeing jets and US natural gas.
Major breakthroughs were not expected, however, as analysts pointed out that continued US strikes on Iran left Washington with less capacity to prepare to make large-scale deals at the summit.
Chinese Industrial Output on the Upswing
Beijing may have had increased leverage in the talks as the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday that both Chinese industrial output and retail sales increased more than expected in the first two months of 2026.
Economists had expected industrial growth to be 5.3% above the same period the previous year, but it rose 6.3%. Similarly, retail sales were up 2.8% from January and February 2025.
Fixed asset investment also increased by 1.8% despite predictions that it would fall into a decline.
Read: Iran Denies Seeking Ceasefire or Talks with US, FM Says
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