Paris, Mar 15 (EFE).- The United States and China are holding a new round of economic and trade consultations on Sunday and Monday at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, with tariffs, technology controls and strategic minerals such as rare earths topping the agenda.
The meeting is being led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. It is also expected to help pave the way for a possible visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing at the end of March for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is also taking part in the discussions, which follow several rounds of negotiations held last year aimed at easing tensions that had threatened to severely disrupt trade between the world’s two largest economies.
The Paris meeting marks the sixth round of the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism established in May 2025 in Geneva. Subsequent meetings have been held in London, Stockholm, Madrid and Kuala Lumpur, the last of which took place in October.
According to sources familiar with the talks who spoke to EFE, the delegations are meeting at the OECD headquarters in the French capital, although the organization is only providing the venue and has not disclosed details about the timing or progress of the discussions.
While the United States is a member of the OECD, China is not part of the group of 38 mainly democratic economies that make up the organization and is still classified as a developing country despite its global economic weight.
China has nonetheless participated in OECD dialogues and joint initiatives since 1995 as part of the “Key Partners” group, which also includes Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
The negotiations come at a time of renewed trade friction and after the U.S. Supreme Court recently limited part of the legal framework used by Washington to impose tariffs on Chinese imports. The talks are also taking place amid global economic uncertainty and energy market volatility following the outbreak of the war against Iran.
Several political analysts remain skeptical about the prospects for significant progress during the Paris talks or at a possible summit in Beijing later this month.
Trump is expected to visit China between March 31 and April 2 for a meeting with Xi and the potential announcement of new trade agreements between the two countries.
During Trump’s state visit to China in 2017, the United States announced agreements and investment commitments worth around $250 billion. EFE
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