U.S., China extend trade truce through Jan. 10 ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

The United States and China have agreed to extend their trade truce through Jan. 10, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday.

The extension provides a short-term reprieve from economic tensions as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington earlier Wednesday for a high-profile state visit hosted by President Donald Trump.

Bessent announced the extension on Fox News after meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, his second meeting with China’s top economic official in four days.

“We met today to see if we could do a bigger deal as opposed to just a series of smaller things,” Bessent said. “We have agreed today that we will extend what we call the Busan Agreement.”

The agreement extends a nearly yearlong trade truce reached by Trump and Xi in Busan, South Korea, last October that de-escalated a tariff fight between the world’s two largest economies. Under that agreement, Washington lowered some tariffs on Chinese goods, while Beijing agreed to pause new restrictions on rare earth minerals, resume purchases of U.S. soybeans and take steps to curb the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals.

The truce had been scheduled to expire Nov. 10. The extension also removes a looming source of uncertainty ahead of Thursday’s meeting between Trump and Xi and gives negotiators more time to work toward a broader trade agreement.

Xi’s visit marks his first state visit to the U.S. in more than a decade as the two countries navigate disputes over trade, technology and national security. Trump is set to welcome Xi to the White House on Thursday for talks expected to focus on those issues.

Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said China had raised the possibility of pursuing a larger deal rather than simply extending the existing framework.

“We’re open to the idea of just continuing the Busan arrangement or examining the bigger deal,” he told reporters. “We’re fine with both, and we’re going to do what’s best for the American people.”

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