China says US trade truce extension creates space to advance talks

Beijing, China announced on Monday that a two-month extension of a trade truce with the United States would provide both nations with time to assess the implementation of their agreement and advance ongoing economic and trade discussions. The Commerce Ministry declared that the extension also offers a "relatively stable and predictable policy environment" for corporate cooperation and continued dialogue.

This extension was one of the major outcomes from the second summit this year between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, which took place in Washington last week. As part of a newly established trade council, the two sides aim to discuss a reciprocal tariff cut on $30 billion worth of products to maintain stable economic and trade relations.

This tariff reduction would also create better conditions for exporting Chinese goods to the United States, according to the ministry's statement. Officials from both countries will conduct regular talks to identify potential investment opportunities, address barriers, improve policy transparency, and respond to concerns from businesses.

The White House revealed that China intends to lower tariffs on various US agricultural products and other sectors such as medical equipment, raw materials, and food items. Agriculture-related tariff cuts, which dominate China's proposed reductions under the $30 billion target, encompass items like corn, wheat, dairy, and meat, but notably exclude soybeans.

This selection appears to align with China's $17-billion commitment to purchase agricultural goods, as highlighted by the White House. Following the strike last year to buy 25 million metric tons of US soybeans annually, both nations plan to establish an agriculture working group under the trade council, which will convene its inaugural meeting before the end of the year to discuss market access and regulations for agricultural products.

In addition to the trade agreement, the presidential summit resulted in China agreeing to import 10 million metric tons of coal annually from the United States starting in 2027 and 2028, representing roughly 2% of China's annual coal imports. The Chinese ministry emphasized that importing US coal will supplement the domestic market and generate stable economic income and employment for the US coal industry.

Topics discussed beyond trade include artificial intelligence, where both sides agreed on a communication channel for addressing incidents and a follow-up dialogue by the end of November. China will also review and approve foreign financial services institutions, including those with US capital, to establish businesses and open branches in China.

Lastly, there will be ongoing discussions on increasing flights between China and the United States, according to the ministry's statement.