Anadolu staff
13 May 2026•Update: 13 May 2026
Top Chinese and US trade negotiators held constructive exchanges during closed-door trade talks on Wednesday, ahead of US President Donald Trump's three-day state visit to Beijing, China said.
The meeting, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, took place at a VIP lounge at the Incheon International Airport under tight security.
The talks held were "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges," focusing on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, as well as on further expanding practical cooperation, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.
Officials earlier said the discussions focused on aligning priorities ahead of the high-stakes Trump-Xi talks scheduled for Thursday in Beijing.
This meeting follows the sixth round of US-China economic and trade consultations held in Paris in March.
Bessent arrived in South Korea from Japan.
During their stay in Seoul, Bessent and He also separately met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung before their trade talks.
Bessent will later head to Beijing to join Trump on his visit to China.
Trump is bringing an entourage of high-profile CEOs with him to China, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman.
According to political economist Jostein Hauge, this rare concentration of household-name Fortune 500 CEOs could lead to "big trade deals emerge."
In Japan, Bessent met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, and other senior officials, to discuss bilateral economic ties.
