US, China ministers meet in New York

What's happened

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Manhattan on Sunday to prepare for President Trump and Xi Jinping's Sept. 24 summit. Talks have covered tariffs, the expiring trade truce, flows of rare-earth and critical minerals, and possible AI guard rails ahead of this week’s White House meeting.

What's behind the headline?

What the meeting will do

• The talks are laying groundwork for the Trump–Xi summit on Sept. 24 in Washington. Officials are preparing limited, concrete steps rather than sweeping deals.

Key negotiating levers

• Tariffs and trade: the one-year truce that capped higher duties will expire on Nov. 10; negotiators are arranging reciprocal tariff reductions and possible cuts on inputs for manufacturers.
• Critical minerals: the US is pressing China to restore supplies of rare-earth magnets and other inputs; US officials say Beijing’s performance "has not been up to par." Failure to secure flows will force Washington to escalate trade or investment measures.
• Artificial intelligence: Bessent is raising AI "guard rails" and discussing both open- and closed-weight models to prevent powerful systems from reaching malign actors; the US is defending its leadership while seeking cooperation to avoid bifurcation.
• Iran and geopolitical risks: sanctions and China–Iran economic ties are on the table; progress on Iran will determine US pressure strategies going forward.

Forecast

• Expect small, symbolic deliverables to show momentum into the summit. Negotiators will prioritize measures that can be announced quickly: targeted tariff reductions, limited commitments on mineral shipments and a declaration to study AI guard rails. Major structural shifts on trade or technology policy will not arrive this week.

Stakes

• If talks fail to produce even minor commitments, the trade truce will face renewed friction before Nov. 10 and Washington will have stronger justification to pursue new tariffs or investigations. If negotiators secure modest deals, both leaders will present the summit as stabilising bilateral ties.

How we got here

Bilateral economic talks have been ongoing for 16 months after a November truce capped US tariffs on Chinese goods. The two sides have used ministerial meetings to try to nail down deliverables—tariff cuts, Chinese purchases of US goods and restoration of critical-mineral flows—before leader-level summits.

Our analysis

CNBC and Reuters reporting quoted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying he was "continuing our discussions" and that the talks are helping "lay the groundwork" for the leaders' meeting (CNBC, Sept. 20). Al Jazeera noted Bessent told reporters he was "looking forward to having focused, fulsome and constructive talks today" as negotiators worked a fragile trade truce due to expire on Nov. 10 and pressed China on critical-minerals flows (Al Jazeera, Sept. 20). Bloomberg emphasised the breadth of issues — trade, investment, AI and the Iran war — and stressed the meetings are routine preparatory steps before the Sept. 24 summit (Bloomberg, Sept. 20 and earlier). Analysts quoted by Reuters and CNBC, including Anna Ashton, warned they expect limited deliverables rather than a breakthrough, a point Bloomberg and Arab News echoed when describing the summit as likely to extend a relative truce rather than produce sweeping deals (Reuters/CNBC/Al Jazeera/Bloomberg/Arab News, Sept. 18–20). Follow the CNBC item for details on planned attendees at summit events, and read Al Jazeera for Bessent’s on-the-record remarks at arrival.

Go deeper

• What exactly are "open-weight" and "closed-weight" AI models and why do they matter?
• What would happen if China does not restore critical-mineral flows by November 10?

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