U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to meet in Manhattan to prepare for a crucial summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Their agenda includes pivotal discussions on artificial intelligence, expiring trade truces, and the supply of critical minerals. Analysts anticipate modest agreements rather than major breakthroughs, aiming to prevent escalating tensions in the complex U.S.-China economic relationship.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are preparing for critical talks this Sunday, aiming to pave the way for potential agreements on artificial intelligence, trade tariffs, and the supply of critical minerals. These high-stakes discussions are a precursor to a much-anticipated Washington summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
The meetings, hosted at JP Morgan Chase's headquarters in Manhattan, will also include U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Expected to commence around 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT), the talks are projected to span the entire day.
Key topics on the agenda include the looming expiration of a U.S.-China trade truce on November 10, concerns over the insufficient flow of Chinese rare-earth magnets and other critical minerals as noted by U.S. officials, and the establishment of guardrails for artificial intelligence following recent reports of significant security breaches involving AI models.
According to analysts like Anna Ashton, founder of Ashton Intelligence, the most probable outcome of these discussions is the agreement on "small steps" rather than a significant breakthrough. This approach aims to demonstrate continued efforts by Washington and Beijing to de-escalate tensions within their delicate trade relationship, which carries immense implications for the global economy. "I think there will be some show of deliverables because of the fact that it's a presidential summit coming, but I don't feel like we're on the verge of some sort of breakthrough," Ashton commented, adding that "status quo is probably both sides' general best expectation."
Many issues for Trump and Xi to address were carryovers from their last meeting in Beijing in May. These include mutual efforts to reduce tariffs on non-strategic goods, China's earlier pledges to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products by $17 billion annually, and commitments to acquire over 200 Boeing aircraft.
The Bessent-He-Greer meeting continues a pattern established over the past 16 months, where the three officials have met in various European and Asian cities to prepare agreements for their respective presidents. These previous engagements included the November 2025 truce in Busan, South Korea, which capped U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods at around 20% after earlier tit-for-tat escalations had driven them to triple-digit levels.
While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down some Trump-era tariffs imposed under national emergencies law, the administration has been reinstating others under new authorities. This includes a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods related to forced labor allegations and an ongoing investigation into curbing China's alleged excess industrial capacity.
Under the 2025 truce, China committed to restoring the supply of critical minerals to global users, including the U.S. However, a senior U.S. official recently indicated that China's performance on this front "has not been up to par," making it a crucial discussion point ahead of the upcoming summit.
New Talks on AI and Global Security
The discussions between Bessent and He on artificial intelligence are particularly significant, given that the U.S. and China are the foremost drivers of advanced AI development and global adoption. Furthermore, rare earths, which are critical minerals, are essential for manufacturing the advanced semiconductor technology that powers AI.
Bessent confirmed on Friday that the talks are expected to cover both "open- and closed-weight models." Open-weight models are AI systems whose core components are publicly accessible, allowing users to download and customize them. Chinese open-weight models are gaining traction among U.S. companies due to their often lower cost compared to closed-weight AI tools offered by companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.
"The United States remains the leader in AI. And we are open to discussions on avoiding shared risks and avoiding bifurcation of our two systems," Bessent stated regarding the China talks. He has been advocating for the U.S. and China to agree on "AI guard rails" to prevent powerful models from falling into the wrong hands of malign non-state actors.
Tariff Reductions and Investment Strategies
In May, the U.S. and China also agreed to initiate discussions on reducing tariffs for non-strategic goods through a new "Board of Trade" mechanism, alongside a similar forum dedicated to addressing specific investment issues.
Despite the Trump administration's tightened restrictions on U.S. companies investing in certain Chinese industries, Reuters reported on Friday that new rules might soon allow U.S. pharmaceutical firms to invest in promising Chinese drugs and forge licensing deals.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Saturday that He Lifeng would lead a delegation of Chinese companies to the U.S. for economic and trade consultations preceding the summit. This mirrors a group of U.S. CEOs that President Trump brought to Beijing in May. The announcement comes as Trump expressed openness to Chinese automakers establishing factories in the U.S., even as American auto industry groups urged his administration on Friday to maintain an effective ban on Chinese vehicle sales in the U.S. due to national security concerns.
