US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and China have agreed to extend their one-year trade truce until January 10, shortly after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
Speaking to Fox News after meeting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Washington, Bessent said the two sides had agreed to extend what he called the “Busan Agreement”, which was due to expire on November 10.
The extension, he said, would give Washington and Beijing more time to work towards a broader economic deal.
“We met today to see if we could do a bigger deal as opposed to just a series of smaller things,” Bessent told Fox News, adding that the agreement would be extended until January 10.
Bessent also discussed the growing economic pressure on Iran, saying Washington's campaign was aimed at cutting off Tehran's financial lifelines. He outlined three possible ways the conflict could end, including internal divisions within the regime, an uprising in Iran or Tehran coming to the negotiating table.
The Treasury secretary also spoke about his discussions with He on artificial intelligence, proposing an AI “notification mechanism” through which the US and China could alert each other about AI-related safety incidents that could pose national security risks. He dismissed reports that he was likely to become Trump's AI czar as “probably fake news.”
Bessent said China was eager to engage with Washington on AI, arguing that the US remains “substantially in the lead” and that discussions should focus on risks including uncontrolled AI agents and non-state actors using AI for cyber operations or biological threats.
The comments came as Xi began a three-day state visit to the US, with Trump welcoming the Chinese president at Joint Base Andrews before the two leaders left for Washington. Trump and Xi are scheduled to hold bilateral talks at the White House on Thursday, followed by a state dinner attended by US and Chinese officials and technology leaders.
For live updates on the Trump-Xi meeting, click here
The meeting comes as Washington and Beijing seek to manage trade and economic tensions while addressing a wider set of issues, including technology and artificial intelligence. The extension of the trade truce gives the two sides additional time to negotiate as Trump and Xi begin their high-profile talks.
