US, China open high-level talks ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Scott Bessent and He Lifeng meet in New York for US-China talks ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting later this week.Top economic officials from China and the United States have begun talks in New York City aimed at clearing the way for possible agreements on trade, artificial intelligence and critical minerals ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began talks at JPMorgan Chase’s Manhattan headquarters on Sunday morning, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also taking part.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4China faces oil challenge as prices soar and supply options narrowlist 2 of 4Taiwan flexes military capabilities ahead of Trump-Xi talkslist 3 of 4Trump says he will create ‘AI Force’ with new ‘AI czar’list 4 of 4Why have US prosecutors labelled China’s Huawei a criminal enterprise?end of listThe talks come four days before Trump is due to host Xi at the White House, with both sides looking to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.“I’m looking forward to having focused, fulsome and constructive talks today that will set the stage for our leaders’ meeting,” Bessent told reporters as he arrived.At the top of the agenda is a fragile US-China trade truce due to expire on November 10.The agreement, reached in Busan, South Korea, last November, capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20 percent after a tit-for-tat trade fight briefly pushed tariffs into the triple digits.Washington is also pressuring Beijing over its supply of rare-earth magnets and other critical minerals, crucial to industries ranging from cars to advanced semiconductors.China promised to restore the flow of critical minerals under last year’s truce, but a senior US official said on Friday that Beijing’s performance had “not been up to par”.AI enters the talksArtificial intelligence (AI) is also expected to feature prominently, adding a relatively new issue to negotiations long dominated by trade.