WASHINGTON: The United States and China have extended their bilateral trade truce by two months to January 10, 2027, giving negotiators more time to explore a broader economic agreement.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the extension on Wednesday after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The existing Busan Agreement had been due to expire on November 10.
“We met today to see if we could do a bigger deal,” Bessent said, describing discussions over whether the two countries could move beyond a series of smaller agreements.
Washington and Beijing reached the original agreement in October 2025 around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit in Busan, South Korea. It paused further tariff increases and retaliatory trade measures for one year.
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Under the arrangement, the US reduced its overall tariff on Chinese imports to about 47% from roughly 57%. China agreed to restore rare-earth supplies, suspend further export restrictions on critical minerals and increase purchases of US agricultural products.
Bessent said China was meeting a commitment to purchase 25 million tonnes of US soybeans but was falling short of a separate pledge to buy $17 billion worth of other American agricultural products.
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US officials have also raised concerns about delays in deliveries of rare-earth materials covered by earlier agreements. The treasury secretary said Washington remained open either to extending the existing framework again or negotiating a larger agreement before the new deadline.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a state visit and talks with US President Donald Trump. China’s foreign ministry said Xi expected the visit to produce substantive results.
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Trump and Xi are scheduled to hold talks on Thursday, with trade and broader bilateral economic issues among the subjects surrounding the visit. The White House confirmed the September 24 meeting as part of Xi’s official state visit.
