US and China trade chiefs hold call as Trump and Xi prepare Shenzhen summit

Summary

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a video call on Friday with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng as both sides finalise preparations for a planned meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Shenzhen later this month. According to a Treasury statement cited by the South China Morning Post, Bessent stressed that China must fully and immediately implement its commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions. The background is an October meeting in South Korea last year, where Trump and Xi agreed to suspend some of the most severe measures they had imposed on each other: US port fees on Chinese-built vessels and Chinese export controls on rare earths. They also agreed to further summit-level talks. The leaders have since met twice, with Trump visiting Beijing in May and Xi visiting Washington in September. An SCMP opinion piece argues that the truce is likely to be extended at the Shenzhen summit.

Timeline

1. South China Morning Post

   6 Nov 2026, 01:30 UTCSource ↗

   The SCMP opinion piece argues that the US-China truce will likely be extended at the Shenzhen Apec summit, recalling the suspended port fees and rare earth export controls agreed at the October meeting in South Korea.

2. South China Morning Post

   6 Nov 2026, 18:34 UTCSource ↗

   The SCMP reports that Bessent and Greer held a video call with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday to finalise preparations for the Trump-Xi meeting in Shenzhen later this month, where Bessent stressed China's commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions.