President Trump, President Xi will discuss AI, tariffs, rare earths

Bessent Reports Successful Meeting Before Xi Visit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday he had a successful meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Washington. The talks covered artificial intelligence and trade ahead of President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping's Sept. 24 summit in Washington.

Bessent, emerging alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said the two sides discussed setting up a U.S.-China AI Dialogue with a notification mechanism for national AI incidents.

Bessent said moving from opaque to more transparency between the world's number one and number two AI powers is always extremely important, like any cross-border activity.

The meeting comes amid intensifying debate in Washington over AI safety and national security as the U.S. and China compete for the major global technological leadership today.

The Trump administration has favored voluntary and national-security-focused safeguards over broad mandatory rules for the AI developers, a stance Trump has firmly and repeatedly defended in recent months.

Trade Truce and Rare Earths Dominate Summit Agenda

The Sept. 24 meeting at the White House will be Chinese President Xi's historic first formal state visit to the American capital in more than a decade.

Both sides want to extend the Busan trade truce reached in October 2025, but they disagree on the very key terms. China has sought a multi-year extension through the end of Trump's second term, while Washington prefers a much shorter one.

Analysts likely expect the two sides to ultimately land at about a one-year extension, according to Scott Kennedy, trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at CSIS.

China's near-total control of the rare earth minerals essential to technology and automobile manufacturing has severely constrained Washington's ability to apply any direct economic pressure on Beijing.

China accounts for up to 70 percent of rare-earth mining, 85 percent of refining capacity, and 90 percent of metal alloy and magnet production, according to consultancy AlixPartners.

The most acute risk is Taiwan, where Beijing has warned it would cancel the summit if Washington formally approves a large pending $14 billion arms package.

Board of Trade Operationalized Amid Iran and Chip Disputes

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two countries have operationalized the U.S.-China Board of Trade to facilitate trade negotiations. The board will identify a critical mass of goods that could be considered separately if new future trade measures occur.

The H200 chip licensing framework remains stalled, with no chips shipped to the ten approved Chinese buyers, and China objects to the 25 percent revenue cut.

The latest talks between Bessent and He Lifeng included broad discussions on rare earths, critical minerals, tariffs, and artificial intelligence ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit.

The United States now urgently seeks the improved flows of Chinese-produced rare-earth magnets and various other critical minerals from Beijing. U.S. officials say these have not been supplied at the level that was previously agreed under the existing trade truce.

The Iran war has directly complicated every major dimension of the ongoing bilateral Trump-Xi relationship since it began in February. Analysts likely expect the Sept. 24 meeting to be a management summit, with the primary deliverable probably a one-year extension.