President Donald Trump departed Beijing after a whirlwind two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trade was expected to be a top line item on the itinerary for the long-awaited visit, but between the expressions of admiration and vague promises of collaboration exchanged by both leaders, few details emerged about the future of the bilateral trade relationship.
While they touched on many issues, from the war in Iran to the United States’ stance on Taiwan, the meetings did not yield new trade deals or an extension of the framework Trump and Xi agreed to last October, which will expire in November 2026.
Taking questions aboard Air Force One, Trump made the surprising admission that neither he nor Xi raised the issue, or had any discussion, about tariffs, despite engaging in a tit-for-tat trade war defined by escalating threats of higher duties throughout 2025.
Before the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, China faced a tariff rate of 30 percent, down from astronomical triple-digit tariffs at certain points last year. Now, the country faces global Section 122 tariffs of 10 percent in addition to its Most Favored Nation tariff rate, Section 232 global tariffs on steel and aluminum, and lingering Section 301 duties from Trump’s first term (which were expanded by President Joe Biden).
China is also a prime subject of two accelerated Section 301 investigations related to forced labor and excess industrial capacity—probes that many believed would be the subject of some discussion at this week’s tête-à-tête.
But tariffs and trade policy took a backseat to Trump’s objective of securing deals for American industry. Aboard the presidential aircraft after the meetings, he indicated that China had committed to purchasing 200 Boeing jets and tentatively agreed to buy 750 more planes in the future. He also reprised rhetoric about China’s promise to purchase “billions of dollars” in soybeans from American farmers.
China pulled back on its purchases of the crop—to the severe detriment of the U.S. agricultural sector—amid last year’s tariff-fueled tensions. Trump and Xi’s face-to-face meeting in the fall precipitated an end to the stalemate; China resumed buying soybeans and Trump lowered tariffs on Chinese imports.
The Chinese delegation did not confirm the commitments to buy more planes or soybeans.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun, providing a macro-level assessment of the talks at his morning briefing, said that the two sides “reached important common understandings on maintaining stable economic and trade ties, expanding practical cooperation in various areas, and properly resolving respective concerns.”
On the subject of the Strait of Hormuz—a critical artery for the transport of 20 percent of the world’s oil that has now become a chokepoint—Trump emphasized China’s appetite to see the waterway reopened.
The White House released a statement saying that Xi also clarified China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use. The statement said the Chinese leader had expressed interest in buying more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East going forward.
The Chinese side’s commentary on the meetings did not include these details.
“There is no point in continuing this conflict which should not have happened in the first place,” Guo said succinctly at Friday’s press conference.
Noting that China will continue to act in line with what he called Xi’s “four propositions,” he said, “It is important to steady the momentum in easing the situation, keep to the direction of political settlement, engage in dialogue and consultation, and reach a settlement on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues that accommodates the concerns of all parties.”
China’s government wants to see the shipping lanes reopened “as soon as possible to respond to the call of the international community and jointly keep the global supply chains stable and unimpeded,” Guo said.
Xi’s Thursday admonition to Trump about the U.S.’ arm sales to Taiwan—specifically, that continued defense support could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the U.S. and China—hung in the air throughout the summit’s proceedings, seemingly superseding other areas of focus.
“We discussed the Taiwan, the whole thing with the arm sales, in great detail, actually, and I’ll be making decisions, but you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away,” Trump told reporters on Friday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that the White House’s stance on Taiwan remains unchanged, for now.
On the surface, it appears that a status quo was maintained across a range of issues in spite of the leaders’ warm words for each other and their emphasis on the importance of the U.S.-China relationship. The focus on friendship may have laid a groundwork for future discussions, though, creating more direct lines of communication between Trump and Xi that could take the place of Foreign Ministry press conferences and midnight Truths.
Trump invited Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to the White House for a visit on Sept. 24. “We look forward to it,” the president said.
