Thirty billion dollars sounds large until it is set beside the trade in question. The United States and China have agreed to cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods, with each side lowering duties on products from the other. The figure is the value of the goods covered, not the size of the cut.
Reuters, citing China’s foreign ministry, reported the arrangement on September 26, as President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington came to a close. The three-day summit with President Donald Trump ended on the Friday. Xi has since flown home to Beijing, according to Chinese state media. Moneycontrol described the goods as non-sensitive ones, flowing in each direction.
The lists arrive
The detail came later. On Monday, September 29, the two governments published reciprocal lists of the products involved, the Associated Press reported from Hong Kong. Notably, the visit was Xi’s first state visit to the United States since 2015. The U.S. had already pared back its tariffs on China after they climbed as high as 145% at one point last year, as relations between the two capitals eased.
Eight points, and a truce
The tariff cut is one strand of an eight-point consensus, according to the Chinese ministry. Both governments endorsed the work of their economic teams and agreed to set up a bilateral trade council. They also backed an extension of the agreements reached in earlier talks in Kuala Lumpur.
The existing truce, meanwhile, had already been stretched by two months from its November 10 expiry. That buys time for negotiations on a wider economic agreement, which is the real prize and has not yet appeared.
AI, hotlines and hosting duties
Artificial intelligence got its own line in the outcome. The two sides agreed to start a dialogue on the risks and benefits of the technology, with the next round due in November, and to create a channel for communication about AI-related incidents. Moneycontrol also noted a memorandum on military crisis communication that is still to be signed.
There were smaller courtesies too. Each country will back the other’s hosting of major gatherings: China and the U.S. are due to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting and the Group of Twenty summit between them, and Trump and Xi signalled plans to attend the events in each other’s country. On foreign policy, the ministry said the leaders agreed that Iran should keep its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country or entity should impose transit tolls on international waterways.
The AI talks are the item to watch. They are scheduled, which in this particular relationship counts for something.
Sources
- US and China detail list of products agreed under $30 billion tariff cut deal after Trump-Xi meeting | The Manila Times
- Xi-Trump summit yields $30 billion tariff deal, new US-China AI dialogue
- China, U.S. agree to $30 billion tariff cut, launch AI dialogue (Investing.com via Yahoo Finance)
