U.S., China Agree to Trim Tariffs, Start AI Dialogue
Deal covers $30 billion in less sensitive exports in either direction, follows Xi Jinping’s summit with Trump
The U.S. and China said they agreed to a $30 billion reciprocal tariff reduction and to launch a bilateral dialogue on artificial intelligence, two tangible outcomes from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recently concluded summit meeting in Washington with President Trump.
The two sides also confirmed plans for the leaders to meet twice more this year, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in November and the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Miami the following month.
Trump and Xi agreed to build a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” during the summit, said a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
Beijing and Washington had already agreed to extend a bilateral trade truce until mid-January, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday. The truce was brokered by Trump and Xi in South Korea in October, after tariff rates between the U.S. and China soared well into the triple digits last year.
The White House said late Friday that the reduction of tariffs will cover nonsensitive goods, including U.S. exports of agricultural and medical products as well as Chinese exports of small appliances and toys.
Xi and Trump aim to foster “peace and prosperity to enhance confidence for businesses and consumers around the world,” the White House said.
The statements from the White House and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cap off a three-day summit more filled with ceremony than substance. The red-carpet welcome for Xi included a state dinner attended by powerful business leaders, as well as a visit to the National Archives in Washington. Xi announced during the summit that two giant pandas from China would soon arrive in Atlanta.
But bilateral tensions—on issues like Iran, Taiwan and AI—simmered below the surface. China and the U.S. both said that Iran shouldn’t develop a nuclear weapon and that no country should impose tolls on international waterways, an apparent reference to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz during fighting with the U.S.
Both sides also hailed progress on antinarcotics law enforcement cooperation. Stopping the flow of fentanyl—and precursor chemicals used to make the deadly drug—from China to the U.S. has been a persistent sticking point in the bilateral relationship. The White House statement acknowledged Beijing’s recent moves to restrict the export of two fentanyl precursor chemicals.
Rivalry between the U.S. and China on leadership in artificial intelligence also shadowed the meeting. Concerns about the new technology spinning out of human control have escalated in recent weeks, leading some to call on the two superpowers to cooperate on AI guardrails.
Beijing and Washington confirmed that they will set up bilateral communication channels for AI issues, but didn’t provide any details on the channels. The next round of the AI dialogue is set for November.
While Washington stated that the two countries continue to work on supply chain issues related to rare earths—after Beijing curbed exports amid trade frictions—the Chinese statement didn’t mention the critical raw materials.