China, US agree to USD30bn tariff cut, AI dialogue during Xi visit, Beijing says

SHANGHAI: China said on Saturday it had agreed with the US on a USD 30 billion reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement and on launching a dialogue on AI, under an eight-point consensus reached during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington.

The two sides have also agreed to set up a trade council and extend the outcomes of earlier talks in Kuala Lumpur, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The agreement follows an earlier move by the world’s two largest economies to extend by two months a trade truce that had been due to expire on November 10, allowing more time to work on a potentially bigger trade deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

The three-day summit between Xi and President Donald Trump, which ended on Friday, showcased personal diplomacy rather than big public breakthroughs. Xi has since landed in Beijing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

“This historic visit enriched the constructive and stable China-US relationship, upheld the overall stability of bilateral ties, opened a new chapter in China-US relations, and will have a far-reaching impact on world peace and development,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement.

On artificial intelligence, the two sides agreed to hold a dialogue on the technology’s risks and benefits, with the next round of discussions set for November, and to set up a communication channel for AI-related incidents, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry also said in a separate statement that Beijing valued Washington’s use of the term “super intelligence” in place of “artificial intelligence”. As AI technology continues to advance, the two sides should step up exchanges and work toward consensus in line with new developments, it said.

The two sides also agreed to support each other in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting and the Group of 20 summit, with both leaders planning to attend the gatherings hosted by the other.

On foreign policy, the leaders agreed that Iran should fulfil its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country or entity should impose transit tolls on international waterways, the ministry said.

The US Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.