Beijing‑Washington Talks in Paris
Economic chiefs from Beijing and Washington met in Paris to clear a path for a potential Trump‑Xi summit — negotiators say the goal is to lock an agenda amid rising global tensions. The session highlighted a $10 billion TikTok deal both governments publicly backed reported, while Taiwan and a rumored U.S. weapons package are expected to be major sticking points ahead of any presidential visit reported.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Paris on March 15–16 for the talks, the Treasury Department announced). Delegations convened at the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development headquarters in Paris, where negotiators raised U.S. tariffs, the flow of Chinese rare‑earth minerals and magnets, high‑tech export controls and Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods as agenda items reported). The deal reshaping TikTok’s U.S. operations includes a roughly $10 billion payment to the U.S. government, a figure first reported by The Wall Street Journal and summarized by Bloomberg’s coverage of the transaction noted). Sources told Reuters a separate potential move — a U.S. arms package for Taiwan with a reported price tag near $14 billion that includes advanced interceptor missiles — could be approved after the planned China trip, a point likely to strain talks reported). Negotiators in Paris are explicitly preparing a short, concrete leaders’ agenda ahead of a summit currently scheduled for March 31–April 2 in Beijing, according to people familiar with the planning reported). U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joined the U.S. side in Paris, underscoring that trade enforcement and tech‑sector rules will be handled alongside the mineral‑supply discussions that market participants have been watching closely reported).
