US China Boards of Trade and Investment Outcome of Xi-Trump Talks, Two Months More for Truce in Trade Battle

[ABS News Service/28.09.2026]

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping used this week’s Washington summit to extend a fragile U.S.-China trade truce and open an AI dialogue, but the meeting left unresolved the core disputes over tariffs, rare earths, semiconductor controls, Taiwan and China’s trade practices.

The summit produced a short-term stabilization package rather than a broader reset. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and China agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, moving the next deadline to January 10, while talks continue on a larger economic arrangement.

The extension preserves a pause on the tariff escalation that last year drove duties into triple-digit levels and keeps alive talks on tariff reductions, agricultural purchases, rare earths and technology controls.

The two sides also agreed to “operationalize” the Board of Trade created to look for products from both that could be ripe for lower tariffs after identifying some $30 billion worth of non-sensitive products for each country.

The summit also moved AI into the formal bilateral channel. The two sides agreed to a US-China AI safety notification mechanism aimed at improving transparency around AI incidents that could rise to the level of national-security concern.

Fact Sheet

Following are excepts from a White House fact sheet on the visit:

The United States welcomed China’s scheduling of orphines, a class of deadly drugs. The United States also noted China’s new export controls on two fentanyl precursor chemicals, while strongly encouraging the permanent scheduling of these and other substances and chemicals to help stem the flow of illicit precursors to dangerous narcoterrorists in North America.

President Trump urged President Xi to increase production of refined petroleum products to stabilize global supply.

OPERATIONALIZING THE BOARDS OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT: This week, the two leaders operationalized the cornerstone government-to-government mechanisms of the US-China Board of Trade and the US-China Board of Investment, which were chartered during the May 2026 Summit in Beijing.

Under the Board of Trade, the two countries reached consensus on recommendations for more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction. The Board of Trade also launched a working group focused on addressing market access barriers in the agricultural sector.

For US exports, the goods include agricultural goods, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices.

For US imports, the goods include consumer products such as small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children’s car seats.

Following President Trump’s revival of the U.S. coal industry, China will import at least 10 million metric tons of coal from the United States in 2027 and again 2028.

The two countries established the Board of Investment. The mission of the Board of Investment is to discuss potential investment opportunities and investment-related impediments and to provide a structured channel for the two sides to address commercially meaningful investment-related issues.

The United States and China continue to work on US concerns regarding supply chain shortages related to rare earths and other critical minerals, with the goal of ensuring shipment levels return to appropriate levels.