The two sides have identified non-sensitive goods worth roughly $30 billion in each direction as candidates for lower tariffs. No reductions have been announced yet, and any cuts will depend on separate legal processes in Washington and Beijing.
The two leaders discussed AI safeguards and the war in Iran, though no broad agreement was expected. On Wednesday, the countries agreed to extend their trade truce for two more months beyond its November deadline.
Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, greeted on the tarmac by Trump in an unusual diplomatic gesture. The two sides also agreed to extend their tariff pause, which had been due to expire on November 10, giving both governments more time for talks.
The two sides will use a joint mechanism to identify goods eligible for tariff cuts, and set up a hotline for AI safety incidents. The fate of their trade truce, which expires on November 10, is expected to be left to the two presidents to decide.
Preparatory talks in New York ended without progress on restoring rare-earth flows that Washington says China has failed to deliver under the trade truce. The two sides also discussed a new AI safety dialogue, with a notification mechanism proposed for the presidents to consider when they meet this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised the idea of a joint notification mechanism for AI incidents at national security level during eight hours of talks in New York on Sunday. Details of the framework's scope and timeline have not been made public, and China has not formally responded.
Both sides described the weekend discussions as progress, though neither released details. Research shows that better US-China relations tend to lift oil prices gradually by raising expectations of stronger demand — a different dynamic from the sharper spikes driven by supply fears.
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