Trade chiefs meet this weekend to set up the Trump-Xi summit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a House Financial Services hearing that he will meet China’s He Lifeng this weekend¹. Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer will host the Chinese vice premier and his delegation, with Trump expected to host Xi Jinping on Sept. 24 in Washington². The two sides’ top trade officials held talks³.

Bessent added an unexpected item. He said the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in AI talks this weekend⁴, telling Axios that Washington remains the leader in AI and is open to discussions on avoiding shared risks and avoiding bifurcation of the two systems, covering both open and closed weight models⁵.

Why it matters to investors

The deliverables are already being trailed. China and the United States are reportedly discussing cuts to tariffs on agriculture and energy⁶, and one account put the mutual tariff-cut talks at goods worth $30 billion⁷. Greer has said he expects announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers related to agriculture⁷. Beijing has been buying ahead of the meeting, taking at least 1 million metric tons of US soybeans in a single week⁸.

Set against that, the tone has not matched the trade flows. While rhetoric between the White House and Beijing has been largely conciliatory in recent weeks, the reality has been harsher³. The United States has imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and the Pentagon blacklisted BYD in June, even as Beijing weighs including the company’s chief executive in its summit business delegation¹⁰.

What to watch

Watch whether the weekend produces a text or only a photograph. Agriculture and energy tariffs are the most likely place for something concrete⁶, and the soybean purchases give Beijing a receipt to point at⁸.

Watch the AI track separately from the trade track. An opening on shared AI risk⁴ would be the first substantive channel of its kind, and the reference to open and closed weight models suggests the scope is technical rather than symbolic⁵. Watch the delegation list as a tell on Beijing’s intent, particularly whether an electric-vehicle executive travels to a capital that has put 100% tariffs on his products¹⁰. And watch the analysis around the summit itself, where researchers are already framing the question as economic security on both sides rather than tariffs alone⁹.