On Sept. 20, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Chinese Vice‑Premier He Lifeng at JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in New York for a full‑day set of talks.
The meeting, also attended by President Trump’s top trade official Jamieson Greer, was described by Bessent as “focused, fulsome and constructive” and is intended to lay groundwork for a planned Oct. 24 White House meeting between the two leaders.
Officials said the agenda would span trade, artificial‑intelligence cooperation, and the supply of critical minerals, with particular attention to extending the current trade truce that expires in November and establishing “guardrails” for AI development.
U.S. teams will press for continued flows of rare‑earth magnets and other critical minerals essential to American manufacturers, while also reviewing China’s earlier pledge to purchase U.S. agricultural products.
A source familiar with the talks indicated that working‑level discussions could continue into Sept. 21, and that the dialogue may also touch on broader strategic issues such as the United States’ economic pressure on Iran, a country where China remains a major oil buyer and diplomatic backer.
Analysts expressed modest expectations for the upcoming summit. Former U.S. deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said the most realistic short‑term outcome is a renewal of the trade truce through the end of the year, and noted that Trump is likely to announce additional meetings with Xi, including a possible November encounter at the APEC forum in Shenzhen and a December G‑20 summit at the president’s resort in Miami.