US, China hold economic and trade talks ahead of Xi's Washington visit
Top officials from the US and China held "candid, in-depth and constructive" talks on economic and trade issues, including on AI, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, official media reported on Monday.
The talks were held between Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and American Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New York on Sunday, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Guided by the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, they have engaged in exchanges on important economic and trade issues of common concern, as well as the implementation of consensus reached in previous talks, by upholding the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, the report said.
Xinhua said Bessent and the vice premier talked about issues “relating to AI” without mentioning specifics and also had “candid, in-depth and constructive” discussions on key economic and trade issues.
They also held dialogues on AI-related issues, it said.
The talks come ahead of Xi's expected visit to Washington on September 23.
Trump plans to accord a rare airport reception to Xi by personally receiving him on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews when the Chinese President arrives, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported earlier.
The two leaders last met in Beijing in May during Trump's visit, when they held talks aimed at improving ties between the world's two largest economies.
The talks assumed significance in the immediate backdrop of Trump signing a new sanctions bill to impose 100 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India.
Trump also unveiled a new "AI Force" in a potential escalation of the high-stakes technology race between the rival powers.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said that “the decimation, or destruction” of artificial intelligence (AI) was among the many hoaxes generated by the “Radical Left Democrats”.
“I, as President of the United States, will not stand by and let this happen,” he said, the Post reported on Monday.
“For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force,” Trump said, adding that he would be announcing “the AI ‘czar’” in the near future.
Trump also signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on Friday. The law authorises expanded sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia and countries that buy its energy exports.
China has rejected US attempts to impose tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil and gas, saying normal trade cooperation between countries should not be subject to interference by third parties.
China engages in normal economic and trade cooperation with other countries based on equality and mutual benefit, Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday.
China opposes long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and lack a UN Security Council mandate, he said.
Despite the tariff threat, Washington and Beijing are also negotiating a reciprocal tariff reduction framework covering products worth USD 30 billion from each side, China's Commerce Ministry said.
The consultations aim to reach a reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement at the earliest possible date, ministry spokesperson Huang Ling said.
Ahead of the summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also held a telephone conversation on Thursday focusing on high-level exchanges between the two countries.
