Bessent, He Lifeng Open US-China Talks in New York — SkimNews
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- Scott Bessent and He Lifeng began talks at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters on Sunday, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participating, four days before Trump is due to host Xi at the White House.
- A fragile US-China trade truce reached in Busan last November capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20% after a tit-for-tat fight briefly pushed tariffs into triple digits, and the agreement is due to expire on November 10.
- Washington is pressing Beijing over rare-earth magnets and other critical minerals; a senior US official said Friday that China's performance on last year's mineral commitments "has not been up to par."
- AI guardrails are a relatively new addition to the agenda, covering both open- and closed-weight models; Bessent said the US "remains the leader in AI" and is open to discussions on avoiding "bifurcation of our two systems."
- Iran is flagged as another potential friction point, with China remaining one of Tehran's most important economic partners and a key target of US efforts to increase economic pressure as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month.
- Analysts expect limited deliverables — Anna Ashton said "status quo is probably both sides' general best expectation," and former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the short-term goal is keeping tensions contained through year-end.
Why it matters: The November 10 truce expiration is the hard deadline shaping these talks: without an extension or replacement, US tariffs on Chinese goods could snap back from the current ~20% cap, and Washington has already publicly flagged Beijing for falling short on critical-minerals commitments. Both Bessent and outside analysts are explicitly downplaying expectations of a breakthrough, meaning the realistic outcome is a face-saving hold-the-line rather than a substantive reset ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
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