Bessent Calls US-China Trade Talks 'Very Successful' Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Top US and Chinese officials met in New York Sunday, activating a Board of Trade but leaving key tariff and truce questions unresolved.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared Sunday's trade and AI negotiations with Chinese counterparts "very successful" following high-level meetings at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters, with both nations agreeing to a follow-up working session Monday and a second round of artificial intelligence dialogue — all in the run-up to a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that the Board of Trade — a mechanism the two countries first agreed to establish in May to facilitate tariff reductions on non-strategic goods — is now operational. Greer said Chinese offerings are expected to center on consumer goods and low-tech items, while American exports under consideration include energy products, agricultural goods, and potentially medical devices. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also participated in the sessions.
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China's lead trade negotiator, Li, offered a more measured verdict, describing the talks as "not bad" and confirming that AI, trade, and investment all featured in the discussions. The working group is set to reconvene Monday, signaling that any concrete agreements remain in progress rather than finalized.
Despite the upbeat framing, critical questions went unanswered. Neither side publicly addressed the US-China trade truce set to expire November 10, nor did officials resolve US grievances over lagging Chinese exports of rare-earth magnets and critical minerals. Analysts note that no specific tariff rates or purchase volumes were disclosed, which limits the market impact of Sunday's announcements. Sensitive sectors — semiconductors and rare earths chief among them — appear excluded from the Board of Trade framework for now.
The absence of detail on the truce expiry keeps headline risk elevated heading into the summit, even as energy and agricultural exporters stand to benefit if those categories secure favorable treatment in the final Board of Trade list. Continue reading at Forexlive.
