U.S. Treasury: Agreement Reached to Extend U.S.-China Trade Truce by Two Months, Until January 10 Next Year

Silent on Possibility of "Larger Agreements" with China

"China Lags on $1.7 Billion Agricultural Purchases"

On "AI Hotline," Says "China Will Agree"

Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, announced on the 23rd (local time) that the "trade truce" with China, originally set to expire in November, will be extended by two months.

From the left, Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of China. Yonhap News

During an interview with Fox News on the same day, Secretary Bessent discussed the results of his meeting with He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, and said, "Today we agreed to extend what is being called the 'Busan Agreement,' which is the economic agreement between the United States and China that was scheduled to expire on November 10."

The Busan Agreement refers to the arrangement reached at a summit held in Busan in October last year between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. At that time, both leaders agreed to refrain from further escalating the “trade war,” in which they had been imposing tariffs of over 100% on each other's goods, and to postpone additional tariffs and certain retaliatory trade measures for one year.

There had been speculation that the two countries would agree to extend the truce in accordance with the original agreement by another year, ahead of the summit between President Trump and President Xi scheduled at the White House on the 24th. However, during their last-minute discussions to coordinate the agenda at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on the day before the summit, Secretary Bessent and Vice Premier He ended up agreeing to extend the trade war truce by only two months, not a full year.

Regarding the first round of talks held with Vice Premier He in New York on the 20th, Secretary Bessent said, "We met for about 12 hours, but there were unresolved issues remaining," and added, "So, today we decided to meet again to see if we could reach a larger agreement instead of addressing a series of smaller items."

On the decision to agree only to a two-month extension, he explained, "This is to secure more time to see what can be accomplished in the economic sphere."

When asked about the possibility of achieving a "larger agreement" during the extension period, he said, "I don't know. It isn't even certain we will extend the current agreement as is," adding, "There are several matters that the Chinese side hasn't fully implemented. We have now conveyed our expectations, and we will watch to see if they implement the agreement more comprehensively."

In response to a question about which commitments China has not fulfilled, he explained, "There were promises to purchase about 17 billion dollars’ worth of soybeans and other agricultural products, but in our assessment, the schedule is running a bit behind, and we are urging China to comply."

When asked about tangible outcomes from the upcoming summit, Secretary Bessent cited the activation of a bilateral trade committee to discuss the removal of tariffs on non-sensitive items worth 30 billion dollars for each side, as well as financial services and China's purchase of U.S. agricultural products, and stated, "A significant amount of work is underway at present."

In particular, when asked whether the proposal to establish a “hotline” for notifications in the event of AI-related incidents would be accepted, Secretary Bessent stated, "I believe they (China) will agree."

He continued, "Whether it be out-of-control AI agents, non-state actors using AI for cyber operations or biological weapons, we are working together with China to define what is most critical or dangerous," adding, "Although it has not been decided yet, I hope we will be able to discuss any incidents that arise, especially those that cross borders."

Regarding the strengthening of Iran's isolation through an "economic ostracization operation" launched by the U.S., and when asked about the fact that China’s large banks have not yet been sanctioned, Secretary Bessent said, "For some countries, it is better to have confidential discussions rather than create a public spectacle," indicating that relations between Iran and China would be discussed at the summit.

President Xi arrived in the U.S. later that afternoon, commencing a three-day state visit. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a summit at the White House on the 24th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.