China announced today that it has reached an agreement with the United States on a plan to mutually reduce tariffs worth $30 billion and launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence, as part of an eight-point agreement reached during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington.
The two sides also agreed to establish a trade council and build on the results of previous talks held in Kuala Lumpur, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
The agreement follows an earlier decision by the world’s two largest economies to extend their trade truce for another two months. The truce had been due to expire on November 10, with the extension providing additional time to work towards a potentially broader trade agreement, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.
The three-day summit between Xi and US President Donald Trump, which concluded yesterday, was characterised more by personal diplomacy than major public breakthroughs, Reuters reported. Xi has since returned to Beijing, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
“The historic visit enriched the constructive and stable China-US relationship, confirmed the overall stability of bilateral ties, opened a new chapter in China-US relations and will have a broad impact on global peace and development,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement.
AI dialogue
On artificial intelligence, the two sides agreed to hold talks on the risks and benefits of the technology, with the next round of discussions scheduled for November.
They also agreed to establish a communication channel for incidents related to AI, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Beyond economic issues, China and the US agreed to support each other in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit and the G20 summit.
The two leaders are planning to attend the respective meetings hosted by each other’s countries, as Trump had previously stated in a social media post.
Iran and international waterways
On foreign policy, the leaders agreed that Iran must uphold its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
They also agreed that no country or entity should impose transit fees on international waterways.
The US Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Source: AMNA
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