Bessent urges balanced China trade before Trump-Xi summit

Washington and Beijing are each pressing the other to deliver on earlier trade promises, a week before President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen. Agricultural purchases have become the main flashpoint. The US wants China to step up farm buying and rare earth shipments. China says it will buy more only after a reciprocal tariff-cut deal takes effect, according to the South China Morning Post.scmp.com

The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. It would be their third meeting this year, Reuters reported via Gulf Times.gulf-times.com

Dueling demands

On Thursday, November 5, Commerce Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling said China "has always been open" to buying more US agricultural products. She added that the precondition is putting in place an agreed arrangement to cut tariffs on about $30 billion of goods on each side, China's State Council Information Office reported. Tariffs on roughly 90% of the covered products would fall to most-favoured-nation rates once both sides complete their domestic legal procedures.english.scio.gov.cn

The next day, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a video call with Vice-Premier He Lifeng. Greer stressed "the critical importance of China taking concrete actions to fully implement its past commitments, particularly as they relate to agricultural purchases, rare earths, and other critical minerals," according to the USTR readout. Bessent said continued progress "depends on concrete results," Al Jazeera reported. China's Xinhua news agency said Beijing raised "serious concerns" about recent US trade restrictions during the call, according to The Straits Times.ustr.gov+2

US officials believe China has met about two-thirds of its rare earth commitments, a figure Beijing disputes, Mining.com.au reported, citing the Financial Times.mining.com.au

Truce extended to January

Despite the friction, both sides kept their truce in place. On Monday, November 9, China said it would keep suspending a 24% additional tariff on US imports for two months while retaining a 10% levy. It also extended export-control waivers for critical minerals and sanctions relief for some US firms until January 10, 2027, Reuters reported. Washington had already extended the suspension of its "affiliates rule" on blacklisted companies' subsidiaries, the SCMP reported. It also renewed tariff exclusions on 178 Chinese products, Inside US Trade reported.money.usnews.com+2

Under the Busan deal reached in October 2025, China pledged to buy 25 million metric tons of US soybeans a year for three years and to increase other farm purchases by $17 billion annually. Pro Farmer reported that China is seen as having nearly met this year's soybean target.profarmer.com

On Tuesday in New York, Bessent called for a "more balanced relationship" in which the US produces more of what it consumes and China consumes more of what it produces. He described the approach as an effort to restore "a spirit of reciprocity," the Associated Press reported via WTOP.wtop.com