China and the United States kicked off a high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday.

As the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, He Lifeng, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice premier, attended the meeting with the U.S. lead person Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The two sides have held talks for the first time since the U.S. side imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.

China is open to dialogue, but any dialogue must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday at a regular press briefing in response to a query on the meeting.