The United States is open to extending the US-China trade truce that expires on Nov.
The United States is open to extending the US-China trade truce that expires on Nov. 10, or to pursuing a larger trade agreement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after meeting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to lay the groundwork for a summit between the two nations' leaders.
Bessent offered no details on the shape of a possible expanded deal following his second meeting with He in four days. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to take up the issues at the White House on Thursday.
"The Chinese came up with the idea of a bigger deal, and given that this could be a historic year where the leaders meet up to four times - this being the second meeting, in Shenzhen and then in Miami - we're open to the idea of just continuing the Busan arrangement or examining the bigger deal," Bessent told reporters. "We're fine with both, and we're going to do what's best for the American people."
The comments marked the strongest signal yet that an extension of the truce, struck last year in Busan, South Korea, is on the summit agenda. Bessent earlier described the meeting at World Bank headquarters in Washington as clearing up "unfinished business" ahead of the Trump-Xi talks, and said the administration was seeking strategic stability grounded in "reciprocity and fairness."
For importers, buyers and cargo owners planning across global markets, the outcome carries direct weight on landed costs, inventory timing and the reliability of supply lines heading into a fresh demand cycle.
Bessent, He and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met in New York on Sunday to prepare potential trade and artificial intelligence agreements for the two leaders to consider. Bessent characterized those talks as "successful," saying the two sides agreed to launch a communications "hotline" to notify each other of AI safety incidents.
China's response to the AI hotline proposal was unclear. State news agency Xinhua acknowledged only that the two sides discussed AI. Analysts say expectations for AI cooperation remain low, citing limited mutual trust and little appetite on either side to slow development. Trump has said he would not "stifle" AI growth and would maintain the US lead over China in what he now calls "super intelligence."
The meeting left the fate of the nearly year-long truce unresolved, which expires Nov. 10. The agreement sharply lowered bilateral tariff rates that had climbed into triple digits amid tit-for-tat retaliation over Trump's tariff hikes last year. Beijing also agreed to restore the flow of rare earth magnets and other critical minerals it had severely restricted - a supply chain lifeline for manufacturers and the buyers who depend on stable input costs.
Greer told Bloomberg TV on Monday that discussions on extending the truce would continue because there was time to negotiate.
"But my expectation is we'll continue talking, and I think both sides want it," he said.
Greer added that the US needed to keep pressure on China to ensure compliance with its critical minerals commitments. US officials last week said China's delivery of rare earths "has not been up to par" - a shortfall that keeps disruption risk alive for shippers and forwarders managing time-sensitive freight.
Two sides also revisited topics Trump and Xi discussed at a May meeting in Beijing, including lowering mutual tariffs on some non-strategic goods and Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft and agricultural products.
Greer said the two sides agreed to "operationalize" a process, established in May, for each side to identify potential tariff cuts on non-strategic goods, a mechanism he called the "Board of Trade." Chinese exports considered for such treatment could include "consumer goods, low-tech items," he said, while US exports could include energy, agricultural goods and medical devices.
For businesses moving product across the Pacific, any tariff relief on these categories would ease total landed costs and support faster, more predictable market entry. The Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday is expected to signal whether the truce holds, expands or gives way to a broader framework - an outcome supply chain planners will watch closely as they set sourcing, inventory and pricing decisions for the months ahead.
