Geneva: Vice Premier of China He Lifeng held a meeting Saturday in Geneva with US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, discussing trade and economic relations in an initial step toward defusing trade tensions between the two countries.

According to Qatar News Agency, the meeting follows weeks of escalating tensions between the United States and China, which have led to a sharp increase in tariffs on imports between the world's two largest economies, reaching approximately 145 percent.

US President Donald Trump stated Friday that implementing an 80 percent tariff on Chinese goods seems like the right decision, proposing for the first time an alternative fixed rate to the existing 145 percent tariffs on Chinese products.