U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng meet Sunday in Manhattan to work through AI, tariffs and critical minerals ahead of a Trump-Xi summit in Washington this week. Analysts expect small steps rather than a breakthrough, with the U.S.-China trade truce set to expire November 10.
Bessent and He Lifeng sit down Sunday at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters, and the talks are due to start at about 10:30 a.m. ET and run all day. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joins the session, which is meant to tee up potential agreements for a Trump-Xi summit in Washington later this week.
The clock is a factor. Officials must work through a U.S.-China trade truce set to expire on November 10, alongside flows of rare-earth magnets and critical minerals that U.S. officials say remain insufficient, and potential guardrails for AI following reports of security breaches involving AI models.
Minerals remain a sticking point
China agreed under an earlier truce to restore critical mineral supplies to U.S. and global users, but a senior U.S. official said Friday that Beijing's performance on that front has not been up to par, and the issue will be discussed again ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
Several other issues carry over from Trump and Xi's May meeting in Beijing, including efforts to cut tariffs on non-strategic goods and Chinese commitments to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural products by $17 billion a year and buy more than 200 Boeing aircraft. Analysts cited by Reuters expect limited steps rather than a broad breakthrough.
AI guardrails enter the discussion
AI forms a newer part of the agenda. Bessent said the talks would cover both open- and closed-weight models and called for guardrails to keep powerful AI systems out of the hands of malign non-state actors. According to Reuters: "The United States remains the leader in AI."
Chinese open-weight AI models have gained traction among U.S. companies, partly on cost, compared with closed-weight systems from companies including OpenAI and Anthropic. China's Commerce Ministry said He will also lead a delegation of Chinese companies to participate in economic and trade consultations ahead of the summit.
Sources: CNBC, Investing.com
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