U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet with Switzerland's Chinese economic tsar this weekend, which could be the first step to resolve the trade war to undermine the global economy.

News of the meeting announced by Washington late Tuesday, later confirmed by Beijing, would have sharply boosted U.S. stock index futures, while stock markets in China and Hong Kong also began as Asian trade began on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The negotiations rose by more than 100% on import taxes between the world's two largest economies after weeks of escalating tensions, which amounted to what was described on Tuesday as the equivalent of a trade embargo.

The deadlock with U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose full responsibility on dozens of countries last month has disrupted supply chains, wasted financial markets and shocked concerns about a sharp decline in global growth.

Biden warns Europe about losing confidence in us under Trump will change the process of modern history

Helen Livingstone

Joe Biden accused Donald Trump of “modern upbringing” in his attitude towards Russia and expressed concern that Europe “lossesses the certainty of the United States” in its first interview since leaving the White House in January.

“He (Vladimir Putin) believes that (Russia) has historical rights over Ukraine,” Biden told the BBC. He said anyone who thinks the Russian president will stop if Kiev admits that Trump's recently proposed territory is "just stupid."

Biden's speech as an ally in Delaware was the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and Biden said Trump's position was "modern support" referring to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's attempt to appease Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

He also said he was worried that Europe would lose confidence in “the certainty of the United States and the U.S. leadership” and that the decomposition of U.S.-European relations under Trump “will change the modern history of the world.”

Biden said the leaders of European countries will be left behind: "Want to know, what should I do now? ... Can I rely on the United States? Will they be there?

"I'm worried that our allies will start to wonder if we will remain where we have been in the last 80 years," he said.

Biden told Nick Robinson that he found extraordinary meetings in the Oval Office of Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “under America.”

He continued to condemn Trump's call for the United States to retrieve the Panama Canal, making Canada the 51st state in the United States and occupy Greenland.

Hello, welcome to the American Political Scene Blog. I'm Tom Ambrose and over the next hour or so, I'll bring you the latest news line.

first, Donald Trump said he "just wanted to be a friend of Canada" after his first post-election meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney - Any prospect who uses the party to shoot down his country to become the 51st state.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump praised Carney for winning the federal election last week, "one of the greatest political comebacks of all time" and described the prime minister's visit as "honor" of the White House.

The friendly tone of Tuesday's meeting contrasts with Trump's hostile rhetoric in recent months as he launched a trade war against his northern neighbors demeaned Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau and repeatedly threatened to crush the Canadian economy with the aim of annexing.

Carney returned to praise, telling Trump that he is a "transformative president" with a focus on the economy. But he downplayed any idea that Canada might join the U.S. to become the 51st state - a proposal that Trump made again at the meeting.

"As you know from real estate, there are places that have never been sold," Carney told Trump.

"Yes," Trump said.

"Meet with Canadian owners during the campaign ... it's not for sale," Carney said. "It's never for sale."

Trump said: "Never say, never say, never say." Carney smiled and said: "Never, never, never, never."

For a complete report on the meeting and further reactions, see the following information:

In other news:

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland later this week, which could be the first step in negotiations to end the trade war between the world’s two largest economies and Trump’s tariffs.

• Bessent also contradicted Trump's previous claim, which had been in conversation with China for weeks. “We didn’t have negotiations,” Best told Fox. "The world has always been in the United States, and China has always been a missing work."

• Trump revealed to reporters that three other Israeli hostages were killed in Gaza, meaning that only 21 of the hostages seized from Israel on October 7, 2023 are still alive. "I said I was 21 because as of today, I was 21. Three people died."

• During the White House match at the 2026 World Cup, Trump learned from reporters that Russia was banned from participating due to the invasion of Ukraine.

• Columbia University announced that the university responded to the Trump administration's decision to cancel $400 million in funding to fund the Ivy League schools dealing with student protests against the Gaza war.

• Three U.S. officials told Reuters that the Trump administration could deport immigrants to Libya for the first time this week.