Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and China agreed to extend their trade truce to January as Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first US state visit in more than a decade. Negotiators also held their first talks on artificial intelligence, while Taiwan and US farm exports remain unresolved sticking points.
Trade truce extended to January
Xi landed in the US on Wednesday for talks with Donald Trump, and hours later China's Commerce Ministry confirmed its senior negotiators had held their first talks with the US on artificial intelligence, spokesperson He Yadong said, adding the two sides also discussed extending trade arrangements agreed in Kuala Lumpur last October. He was referring to Vice Premier He Lifeng's meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York ahead of the summit.
Bessent told Fox News that the two countries agreed to extend the trade truce to January. The truce, reached in October 2025, keeps tariffs lower and limits China's export controls on rare earths, which are critical for semiconductors and defense products. The truce had been due to expire in November, with Trump and Xi expected to meet twice more this year, so a broader trade deal is unlikely to emerge from this week's summit.
AI dialogue opens as safety fears mount
Artificial intelligence was absent from the leaders' May meeting in Beijing but is now high on the agenda. According to the Guardian, Xi has called for "safety and security in AI development," while Trump has dismissed warnings about the technology's risks. Bessent had earlier proposed a mechanism for the two countries to communicate on major AI safety issues, and China's ministry said the talks produced multiple points of consensus.
Eurasia Group's China director, Amanda Hsiao, questioned how any such mechanism would work in practice, noting that past US-China crisis hotlines have not always proven effective.
Taiwan and farm exports remain sticking points
China's ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, published an article outlining four "red lines" for the summit, with Taiwan listed first. After the May summit, Trump delayed a $14bn weapons sale to Taiwan, calling it a useful negotiating chip, though Beijing rejects bargaining over the island.
US farm groups are also pushing Trump to secure firmer Chinese import commitments. China is on pace to meet its pledge from the Busan summit to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually, but analysts say its separate commitment to import $17 billion annually in grains, meat and other farm goods is far less certain. Beijing's 10% retaliatory tariff on US soybeans remains in place, and China has yet to purchase any US corn this season.
Sources: The Guardian, CNBC, Investing.com
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