US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng initiated high-level talks in New York on September 20, 2026, to set the agenda for the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. The discussions aim to address a range of critical issues, including trade and investment, artificial intelligence, and the ongoing Iran war. These preliminary negotiations are seen as crucial for laying the groundwork for a potentially fragile trade truce between the world's two largest economies.
The current talks are designed to narrow differences and explore potential agreements that Trump could either approve or reject before his meeting with Xi at the White House on Thursday. Sources close to the discussions indicate that both sides are actively seeking common ground, particularly concerning artificial intelligence and critical rare earth minerals. US officials are pushing for focused and constructive talks to manage risks and prevent a complete bifurcation of the US and Chinese technology ecosystems, especially regarding open-weight and closed-weight AI models.
Despite the emergence of AI as a new battlefield, traditional trade disputes remain central to the US-China relationship. Key issues include efforts to reduce tariffs on non-strategic goods, Chinese commitments to increase purchases of US agricultural products by $17 billion annually, and the acquisition of over 200 Boeing aircraft. The existing trade truce, which capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at approximately 20% after the November 2025 Busan agreement, is set to expire on November 10, adding urgency to the current negotiations.
While the US Supreme Court previously struck down tariffs imposed under national emergencies, the Trump administration has been re-establishing some tariffs under alternative legal authorities, such as a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods due to forced labor allegations. Additionally, Washington is preparing a separate tariff investigation focusing on what it perceives as excess industrial capacity in China. These ongoing tariff disputes, combined with new areas of contention like AI and critical minerals, highlight the complexity of the relationship ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
