Chinese negotiators – vice-premier He Lifeng and international trade negotiator Li Chenggang – sat patiently as the United States team, led by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer, tried to extract a deal to make US President Donald Trump feel like he had a victory. But the Chinese would not budge. The question of appreciating the Chinese currency was off the table. The US was desperate to get trade with China moving and for China to show that it had decided to surrender. But neither He nor Li had any intention of putting up the white flag.
In the end, both sides agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs and to continue the economic dialogue. The Spectator covered the negotiations in mid-May with a telling headline: ‘China has won the trade war with Trump.’
