US, China trade chiefs hold call ahead of Trump-Xi summit in Shenzhen

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a phone call with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday as both sides moved to finalise preparations for President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen later this month.

“Secretary Bessent emphasised the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions,” a statement from the Treasury Department said.

“He underscored that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the United States will closely assess China’s implementation of the arrangement.”

The readout did not elaborate on the “recent Chinese actions” Bessent had raised. Washington has previously voiced concerns over rare earth exports, urging Beijing to expedite approvals for shipments of the strategic minerals.

Bessent and He last met shortly before Xi’s state visit to Washington in September, and agreed to extend the trade agreement reached in South Korea by two months, until January 10, 2027. The one-year agreement was due to expire on November 10, 2026.

The agreement in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025, eased bilateral tensions that had escalated following Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Under the deal, Washington agreed to reduce tariffs on certain Chinese imports and suspend additional trade restrictions. Beijing, in turn, paused some rare earth export controls and committed to buying US soybeans and curbing exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl.

The call comes a day after the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that it remained open to buying more agricultural products from the United States, but seeks implementation of so-called reciprocal tariff cuts covering US$30 billion worth of products on each side.

“China has always maintained an open attitude towards expanding agricultural imports from the United States, provided that the agreed-upon reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement – covering $30 billion on each side – is implemented,” Huang Ling, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday.

Trump is scheduled to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen this month – their third face-to-face talks this year.