US and China to Hold Surprise Trade Talks in Paris Amid Middle East Tensions
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Top economic officials from the United States and China are scheduled to begin a new round of trade talks in Paris on Sunday, 15 March 2026, to address several obstacles in the trade ceasefire between the two nations.
According to Reuters, the meeting is also expected to clear the way for a visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March.
The discussions will be led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The agenda is expected to include US tariff changes, China’s supply of rare earth minerals to American buyers, US high-technology export controls, and Chinese purchases of American agricultural products.
Both sides will meet at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. Sources aware of the plans note that China is not a member of the 38-nation organisation of advanced democracies and still considers itself a developing country.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is also scheduled to participate in the discussions. This meeting continues a series of discussions across various European cities last year aimed at easing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Several US trade analysts assess that the chances of major breakthroughs in the near term are relatively limited. This is because of the short preparation time and Washington’s attention being diverted by conflicts involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
Scott Kennedy, an expert on Chinese economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said both sides are likely to target only minimal results from the meeting. According to him, the primary goal at this time is to keep dialogue ongoing to prevent new escalations in tension.
Kennedy believes Trump is likely to want to return from Beijing with major commitments from China to purchase new aircraft from Boeing and increase purchases of US liquefied natural gas and soya beans. However, to obtain such commitments, Washington would likely have to offer concessions regarding high-technology export restrictions.
He added that the summit is likely to produce only superficial progress without significant change from conditions over the past four months. Nevertheless, Trump and Xi have the potential to meet several more times this year, including at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by China in November and the Group of Twenty summit to be held in the US in December.
The conflict between the US and Israel against Iran is also expected to be a topic of discussion at the Paris meeting. This issue is related to rising global oil prices and the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which approximately 45% of China’s oil imports pass.
On Thursday evening, Bessent announced a 30-day sanction relief to allow the sale of stranded Russian oil on tankers at sea to increase global supplies. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Trump urged other nations to help protect shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz after Washington attacked Iranian military targets on Kharg Island.
China’s state media, Xinhua News Agency, assessed that meaningful progress in economic cooperation between the two nations could help restore confidence in an increasingly fragile global economy. However, the success of the talks will greatly depend on Washington’s approach in the negotiation process.
In this meeting, both sides will also review the implementation of the trade ceasefire agreed in October 2025 in Busan, South Korea, by Trump and Xi. The agreement reduced US import tariffs on Chinese goods and postponed for one year Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth mineral exports.
China also committed to purchasing 12 million metric tonnes of US soya beans in the 2025 marketing year and 25 million tonnes in the 2026 season beginning after the autumn harvest. US officials stated that China has so far fulfilled its initial commitments under the agreement, particularly regarding soya bean purchases.
However, several US industrial sectors still face shortages of rare earth minerals from China, which controls much of global production. US aerospace and semiconductor companies are reported to be experiencing shortages of essential materials such as yttrium, used in heat-resistant coatings for jet engines.
Additionally, Greer and Bessent are bringing a new issue to the negotiation table in the form of a “Section 301” investigation into unfair trade practices targeting China and 15 other trading partners. The investigation could trigger a new round of tariffs within the coming months.
Greer also launched a separate investigation concerning alleged forced labour practices in 60 countries including China, with the potential to ban certain imports into the US. This step aims to rebuild tariff pressure from the Trump administration after the US Supreme Court invalidated previous global tariffs.
China condemned the investigation on Friday and stated it has the right to take retaliatory measures. China’s state media China Daily characterised the investigation as a unilateral action that complicates the trade negotiation process between the two nations.