Catenaa, Saturday, November 14, 2026- The US and China discussed trade and tariff cuts at their first trade council meeting on Friday.
“The two sides held candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on implementing the outcomes of previous China-US economic and trade talks, including tariffs, a reciprocal $30 billion for $30 billion tariff-cut arrangement, agricultural trade and other issues of mutual concern,” China’s Commerce Ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
The two will keep strengthening communication under the board to address each other’s economic and trade concerns “to expand the list of areas for cooperation while narrowing the list of issues”, the Commerce Ministry statement said.
The trade council meeting happened ahead of the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Shenzhen next week.
Reuters reported that the commerce ministry’s statement did not say whether any agreements were reached. Both sides will continue using the council to address trade concerns, expand cooperation, and reduce outstanding issues.
During their September meeting in Washington, Trump and Xi endorsed a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions covering approximately $30 billion worth of imports from each country. However, the measures have yet to be implemented because the two governments must complete their respective domestic legal procedures.
The Office of the US Trade Representative said earlier on social media that the Trump administration looked forward to continuing its engagement with China to “establish fair and balanced trade between the two largest economies in the world”.
China’s imports of American agricultural products, excluding soybeans, have remained weak despite Beijing’s commitment to increase purchases. According to a Reuters analysis published on November 2, China imported approximately $7.2 billion of these products during the first nine months of 2026, putting purchases on course for their lowest annual level in seven years.
Reuters reported that Beijing has linked expanding its purchases of US farm goods to implementing the $60 billion tariff-reduction deal and moving forward with proposed reductions.
