Arabic version: تمديد الهدنة التجارية بين الولايات المتحدة والصين حتى 10 يناير

According to Cnbc, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and China have extended their trade truce until Jan. 10. The arrangement is intended to keep tariffs lower for longer and allow rare earths to continue flowing. Bessent made the comments on Fox News as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington, D.C., for a state visit through Friday.

Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to a one-year trade truce during a meeting in South Korea last October. The agreement had been set to expire in November. Bessent said Beijing needs to fulfill more deliverables. Chinese state media did not immediately report his comments on the extension.

Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the two-month extension suggests the United States is unsatisfied with China’s offers and wants to maintain pressure. He added that the shorter extension could make it more likely Xi attends the G20 in Miami. Trump visited Beijing in May, and the two leaders could also meet at an APEC meeting in Shenzhen in November and the G20 summit in Miami in December.

Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, said an extension alone does not address companies’ challenges, including the lack of a standardized approach for rare earths export-license applications. Xi said in an official arrival readout that he was confident the visit would produce “fruitful results” and that the two countries should be partners rather than rivals.

Chinese state broadcaster footage showed Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meeting Xi and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan at the foot of Xi’s jet. Trump told reporters he would discuss the Iran war and many other subjects with Xi. Bessent also met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York, where the two sides discussed establishing an alert system for artificial intelligence incidents.