US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described his engagement with Chinese officials on trade and artificial intelligence as "very successful," with discussions held in New York on Sunday ahead of this week's summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The two sides agreed to establish a dialogue on AI, aiming for a shared understanding of goals and potential threats, and plan to meet again on this matter. The US also proposed a notification mechanism between the two countries.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that a Board of Trade has been implemented and is now operational, with US and Chinese teams continuing their work on the agreement. Greer indicated that the Chinese side of the board is likely to include consumer goods and low-tech items, while the US side could involve energy products, agricultural goods, and potentially medical devices. China's top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, characterized the talks as "not bad" and stated that working group discussions would persist on Monday.
These meetings, which also involved Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, occurred amidst preparations for the Trump-Xi summit. However, the reported comments did not address the US-China trade truce expiring on November 10 or US concerns regarding Chinese critical mineral flows. Analysts suggest the constructive tone and procedural outcomes indicate an effort to avoid escalation rather than a significant breakthrough, with the full impact dependent on specific lists of goods, tariff treatments, and further progress on AI and other sensitive issues. newsquawk.com, bloomberg.com, investinglive.com
