- Trump and Xi convene in Washington for their second in-person summit of the year, seeking to reinforce a trade truce reached in Busan, South Korea, nearly a year ago.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that "we had some deliverables that have not been completely fulfilled" by China under the Busan agreement.
- The Busan truce, under which China suspended rare earth export controls and agreed to buy U.S. agricultural products while the U.S. reduced tariffs, expires Nov. 10, one week after the U.S. election, absent an extension.
- Effective U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods remain the highest among major U.S. trading partners — 22.8% per Penn Wharton, roughly 36.5% per the Congressional Research Service — against Beijing's 31% rate on U.S. goods.
- Total U.S.-China goods trade fell nearly 30% in 2025 and continued to decline in the first seven months of 2026, leaving China behind Mexico and Canada as a U.S. trading partner, with the goods deficit still roughly $91.2 billion this year.
- AI policy, an Iran war-related sanctions operation, tariff shifts, export controls and rare earths sit on the summit agenda alongside trade deliverables.
Quotes
“We had some deliverables that have not been completely fulfilled”
“A number of inconsistent viewpoints seem to be jostling each other”