The United States and China are pushing back the expiration of their bilateral trade truce from November to January, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The announcement was made on Wednesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Washington, D.C., for a state visit with President Donald Trump.
“We will extend what we call the ‘Busan Agreement’ — the economic detente between the two countries that was scheduled to end on Nov. 10 — that is going to be extended until Jan. 10,” Bessent told Fox News.
The Cabinet secretary said it’s possible to either secure a larger trade deal with China by January or to “just roll the current deal” and extend it further down the line.
“There are some deliverables that have not been perfect on the Chinese side, so we also want to see, now that we’ve sat down and told them our expectations, if over the coming months they can be more fulsome in enacting the agreement,” Bessent explained.
The trade agreement, negotiated during last year’s Trump-Xi summit in Busan, South Korea, paused escalating tariffs and lowered certain U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, among other key actions.
Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have been meeting with their Chinese counterparts since Sunday. Bessent described the two meetings held on Sunday and Wednesday as “very productive.”
Xi is in the U.S. for a highly anticipated state visit that marks his first trip to the country since 2015. A bilateral summit between Trump and Xi is a core priority of the Chinese president’s three-day state visit. The two world leaders last met in Beijing in May.
PHOTOS: TRUMP ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET AND A B-1 FLYOVER FOR XI’S ARRIVAL
Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife as the latter two landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Xi was greeted by a 100-foot-long red carpet, a 21-person honor guard, and two B-1 bomber flyovers, among other pomp-filled gestures.
The welcoming ceremony was out of the ordinary, considering Trump usually meets foreign leaders at the White House.
Continue reading...
[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
