US, China extend trade truce by 2 months as talks shift to APEC, G20

Following their Washington summit, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet again on each other's turf — first at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China in November, then at the Group of 20 summit in the United States in December.

The APEC summit is scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen, China, while the G20 will be held Dec. 14-15 in Miami, Florida. Should the two leaders hold separate bilateral talks at either venue, it would mark multiple face-to-face meetings this year alone, following their Beijing summit in May and this month's Washington gathering.

At Thursday's White House summit, the two countries agreed to build what they described as a "constructive strategic stability relationship based on respect, fairness and equality." Both China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the White House included in their readouts that each leader intends to attend the summit hosted by the other's country.

On the economic front, the two sides bought themselves more time to avoid an immediate clash. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the so-called Busan Agreement — a mutual tariff and retaliation freeze struck in Busan last year — would be extended by two months, from its original Nov. 10 expiration date to Jan. 10 next year.

The two countries also agreed to establish a dedicated dialogue channel on AI, covering both the risks and benefits of the technology. Follow-up consultations are planned for November, and a bilateral communications channel will be set up to handle AI-related incidents as they arise.

By contrast, key technology and supply chain issues — including rare earths and semiconductors — remain unresolved and will require further negotiations. The White House said the two sides are continuing to discuss shortages in rare earth and critical mineral supplies but did not disclose any specific additional agreements.

Taiwan also remains a major variable in US-China relations heading into year-end. Xi called on the United States to handle the Taiwan issue with care during the summit, though the White House's published fact sheet made no separate mention of Taiwan.

Particular attention is focused on the timing of a roughly $14 billion US arms sale package to Taiwan that the administration has under review. The package is still awaiting approval, and some observers suggest the announcement could be delayed given its overlap with the upcoming US-China summit schedule.

Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, described the recent flurry of US-China activity as "political and diplomatic efforts by senior leadership on both sides to manage strategic competition between the two countries." On the arms sale, he warned that "if the sale goes through, it will inevitably deal a blow to bilateral relations, and China could respond by tightening rare earth export controls."

Some analysts say the atmosphere at the November APEC summit could differ from Washington's, given that China is the host. Chen Qi, director of the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University, said China "will have far greater autonomy over the agenda, topics and preparatory process than it did at the Washington summit."

Meanwhile, the two countries also expanded cooperation on drug enforcement, separate from economic and security issues. The White House said China arrested 21 Chinese nationals in August on charges of manufacturing and distributing illegal drug precursors, acting on information provided by US law enforcement agencies. China also introduced new export controls on two fentanyl precursor chemicals.