US and China extend trade truce by two months to pursue larger deal, Bessent says

The United States and China have agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, moving its expiration date from November 10 to January 10, to allow more time to negotiate a potentially larger deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday. Bessent revealed the extension after a 90-minute meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Washington, following 12 hours of talks on Sunday. He noted Beijing raised the prospect of a more expansive agreement, though details remain unclear, and acknowledged China is lagging on some existing commitments, including $17 billion in agricultural purchases. The extension builds on the "economic detente" reached in Busan, South Korea, in May, which lowered tariffs from triple-digit levels. The two sides also agreed to launch a communications hotline for AI safety incidents, though analysts remain skeptical about deeper AI cooperation due to mutual distrust.