US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead talks on trade and other pressure points Sunday in New York ahead of next week's summit between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies.
The negotiators will lay the groundwork for a high-profile meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 24 in Washington. Bessent and He last met face-to-face near Seoul four months ago, just days before Trump visited Beijing in May.
Also read: US, China to hold final tariff talks ahead of expected Xi-Trump summit
Energy disruptions from the Iran war, the artificial intelligence boom, and trade and investment are likely to top the agenda as both sides work to maintain stability in a tariff truce that expires in November.
Adding urgency for US officials to extend the deal are Nov. 3 midterm elections where inflation is a persistent voter concern.
The US is "at a stage with China where efforts to try and transform this relationship and strengthen it are no longer top of list," said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
The objective is more about "trying to keep things stable, keep things from escalating and try to, in practical terms, keep the trade truce that was reached in Busan in place," she said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also attend talks, according to a statement from his office. "The Trump Administration will continue to pursue balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American farmers, manufacturers, and workers," he said in the statement late Friday.
China's Commerce Ministry on Saturday confirmed the talks would take place.
Also read: A Xi-Trump summit deal can throw US carmakers under the China bus
An announcement of new US tariffs over allegations of trading partners' excess manufacturing capacity has been delayed until after the meeting, according to people familiar with the matter.
"Both sides want to avoid another flare-up and relative stability in the relationship is likely to continue," Nicole Gorton-Caratelli, Adam Farrar and Maeva Cousin of Bloomberg Economics wrote in a research note this week. "But as the US rebuilds its tariff wall, the risk of renewed escalation remains."
The US and China have been working to reduce levies on American energy and agricultural products, part of a broader initiative to ease barriers on $30 billion worth of products from each side under the Board of Trade mechanism launched earlier this year.
