Presidents Trump and Xi met at the White House on Thursday for a summit covering trade, AI, and the Iran war. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides agreed to extend their temporary trade truce to Jan. 10, keeping lowered U.S. tariffs and suspended Chinese export controls on rare earths in place. Analysts expect the cautious meeting to yield few major deliverables.
Trade truce extended to January
Trump and Xi opened their first face-to-face meeting since a summit in China earlier this summer with a focus on trade. Bessent said Wednesday evening that the countries had agreed to extend their temporary trade truce, which lowered U.S. tariffs and suspended Beijing's controls on exports of rare earths and critical minerals. The agreement, originally set to expire in mid-November, will now run through Jan. 10, Bessent told Fox News.
The president said the two countries have been working toward a more balanced trading relationship, and both leaders struck conciliatory tones in public remarks. According to CNBC: "stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation", Xi said of the two countries. He added that competition between the two nations should stay within bounds rather than become a contest with a single winner and loser.
Markets watching for signs of a durable trade framework got a cautious rather than a decisive signal: China analysts broadly expect the leaders' relationship and policy goals to produce a summit with few major deliverables, even as the meeting carries real geopolitical weight.
AI and Iran also on the table
Trump confirmed that artificial intelligence would top the agenda, writing that neither country wants to change how the sector is currently handled and that he intends to leave AI regulation exactly where it is. Xi, in remarks after arriving at the White House, said the U.S. and China share responsibility to keep AI development under human control and serving the public good.
The Iran war also came up in discussions. Trump told reporters the topic would be part of the agenda alongside "many other subjects," following U.S. sanctions efforts aimed at Iran's financial enablers that have raised questions about whether Beijing, Tehran's top trading partner and oil buyer, could eventually be targeted. The administration has said no country is exempt from potential sanctions but has not directly targeted China.
Source: CNBC
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