US warns China it must 'immediately' meet terms of Busan trade truce, FT reports

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamie Johansson Greene engaged in a phone conversation with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday as both nations prepared for President Donald Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen. Bessent stressed the significance of China promptly adhering to its commitments from the Busan summit and expressed concern over recent Chinese actions.

He stressed the necessity of tangible outcomes and the United States' intention to closely monitor China's adherence to the arrangement. The statement did not specify the "recent Chinese actions" Bessent mentioned. The U.S. has previously expressed worries over Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, urging Beijing to expedite approvals for shipments.

Bessent and He previously met before Xi's state visit to Washington in September, agreeing to prolong the trade deal from South Korea by two months until January 10, 2027. The original one-year agreement, set to end on November 10, 2026, eased tensions that had risen following Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Under the agreement, Washington reduced tariffs on certain Chinese imports and suspended further trade restrictions.

China, in turn, halted some rare earth export controls and promised to purchase U.S. soybeans and limit fentanyl exports. The call occurred the day after the Chinese Commerce Ministry indicated that it was willing to buy more U.S. agricultural products but required the implementation of reciprocal tariff cuts covering $30 billion worth of products from each side.

Huang Ling, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, stated that China has consistently shown openness to increasing agricultural imports from the United States as long as the agreed-upon reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement is applied. President Trump is expected to meet with Xi at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen this month, marking their third face-to-face discussion this year.