US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Wednesday that the US and China have agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, pushing the expiration date to January 10. This announcement came as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Washington, D.C. for a state visit that will run through Friday. The original agreement, a one-year trade truce struck between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea last October, was set to expire in November.
Bessent, speaking on Fox News, indicated that Beijing needs to fulfill more deliverables under the current agreement. He also met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York prior to Xi's arrival, where they discussed establishing an alert system for artificial intelligence incidents. While some had anticipated a longer extension, possibly six months or more, the two-month extension provides additional time for negotiations on a potentially larger trade deal.
The extension is seen by some analysts, like Craig Singleton, a former national security official, as a way for Washington to test China's commitment to existing agreements before considering a longer-term truce. Singleton suggested that this short extension allows the US to assess China's performance on agricultural commitments by January. Bessent also mentioned that there could be further announcements during Xi's visit, possibly related to financial services or agricultural purchases, despite China being behind schedule on some of its non-soybean agricultural purchase pledges.
