TRADE talks between representatives from Beijing and Washington have begun.

The negotiations in Paris pave the way for US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in two weeks.

Delegations led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent convened in the French capital on Sunday morning, according to the Xinhua news agency. 

The White House has said that President Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, though Beijing has not officially confirmed it.

On Friday, China’s commerce ministry said the two sides are set to discuss “trade and economic issues of mutual concern.”

President Trump’s visit to China will be the first for a US president since he went in his first term in 2017. It will come five months after the two leaders met in Busan, South Korea, and agreed to a one-year truce in a trade war that temporarily saw tit-for-tat tariffs soar to triple digits before the two sides reached a deal.

The current geopolitical instability, largely caused by the US, is likely to be a potential flashpoint between the two leaders during the talks in Beijing, especially when global anxiety is soaring over oil prices and supplies. 

President Trump said on Saturday that he wanted China to join other nations in sending warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.”

But Tehran has already reportedly said Iran is already minded to grant safe passage to ships if the cargo was traded in Chinese yuan.

Oil is almost entirely traded in dollars, apart from sanctioned Russian oil, which is traded in rubles or yuan.