U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began crucial talks in New York on Sunday ahead of an expected summit this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The discussions are aimed at laying the groundwork for potential agreements on artificial intelligence, tariffs, critical mineral flows and an extension of the trade truce between the world’s two largest economies.
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The meetings are being held at JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in Manhattan, with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also taking part. The talks are expected to focus on the U.S.-China trade truce, which is due to expire on November 10, China’s rare-earth mineral exports, which U.S. officials say remain insufficient, and possible safeguards for artificial intelligence.
Analysts cited by Reuters expect the two sides to potentially agree on limited steps aimed at maintaining stability and avoiding further escalation in a sensitive trade relationship with major implications for the global economy.
Among the unresolved issues from the leaders’ May meeting are efforts to reduce tariffs on non-strategic goods, Chinese commitments to increase annual purchases of U.S. agricultural products by $17 billion, and plans for China to purchase more than 200 Boeing aircraft.
The meeting continues a pattern of negotiations over the past 16 months, during which U.S. and Chinese officials have held talks in European and Asian cities in preparation for possible agreements between Trump and Xi.
Those efforts included a trade truce reached in November 2025 in Busan, South Korea, which reduced U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods during Trump’s second term to around 20%, after reciprocal tariff increases had pushed rates above 100%.
The U.S. Supreme Court later struck down tariffs imposed by Trump under the National Emergencies Act, including duties linked to efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.
The Trump administration subsequently increased some tariffs under new legal authorities, including a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods over alleged forced-labor concerns. The administration is also finalizing a separate investigation aimed at addressing what it describes as widespread excess industrial capacity in China.
Under the trade truce, China pledged to resume the flow of critical minerals to the United States and global markets. However, a senior U.S. official told reporters that China’s performance on the issue had “not been adequate,” making critical mineral supplies one of the issues expected to be discussed ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
