Trump and Xi agree to Washington talks as US-China trade truce holds

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at the White House on September 24 to extend a fragile trade truce set to expire in November, following a period of extreme tariff escalation that saw duties reach 125 percent. The meeting follows a 2025 tariff war that began with a 10 percent US duty on Chinese goods and escalated through multiple rounds, before a May 2025 Geneva pause and an October truce reduced tensions. Recent talks in New York covered tariff reductions on non-sensitive goods and a proposed US-China AI incident notification mechanism. China enters the talks from a stronger position, with its global trade surplus projected to exceed $1 trillion for a second year. Unresolved issues include critical minerals access, Chinese purchases of US goods, and technology restrictions, while Taiwan remains a potential complication.