Bessent says US, China trade truce extended by 2 months

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. and China have decided to extend their trade truce by two months, extending it until January 10. This extension comes shortly after Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a two-day meeting with President Donald Trump. The extension of the truce sets up another deadline for early next year.

Initially, the trade truce was agreed upon in October last year by both President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The truce involved both sides rolling back restrictions on critical minerals and high-tech exports that had threatened to disrupt global supply chains. The truce was set to expire on November 10, but it has now been extended.

Bessent said that the extension will provide more time to address the economic front and determine whether a larger deal can be done. The extension comes after talks between Bessent, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamie Jamieson Greer at the World Bank in Washington. During these talks, the focus was on expanding the trade truce.

While the extension of the trade truce is being welcomed, there are concerns about China's commitment to its previous agreements. Bessent stated that Beijing is a bit behind schedule on its non-soybean agricultural purchases and that the U.S. is encouraging China to pick up its commitments. Former national security expert Craig Singleton pointed out that the short extension is likely a reflection of Washington's desire to test China's performance and reassess its leverage.

Singleton believes that by January, the administration should know whether China has delivered on its agricultural commitments.