Beijing signals tariff cuts, agrees U.S.-China trade councils after Trump–Xi summit

China’s commerce ministry said on May 16 that Beijing and Washington had agreed to expand agricultural trade through tariff reductions and to address non-tariff barriers after President Donald Trump’s summit this week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The ministry said the arrangements were “preliminary” and would be finalized “as soon as possible.” Chinese officials also said the two sides would create trade and investment councils to discuss tariff cuts on specific products and other commercial disputes. ### What did Beijing actually announce after the summit? China’s Ministry of Commerce said Saturday that the two sides would promote two-way trade, including in agricultural products, through reciprocal tariff reductions across a range of goods, though it did not identify the products. The ministry also said the countries had agreed to “resolve or make substantive progress” on non-tariff barriers and market-access issues. (finance.yahoo.com) The same statement said the new Trade Council would serve as a forum for talks on tariff reductions for specific products, while a parallel investment council would handle related issues in cross-border investment. South China Morning Post, citing the ministry statement, reported the two sides also agreed in principle to match each other’s tariff cuts on a reciprocal basis. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Why is agriculture at the center of this package? China’s farm imports from the United States fell 65.7% year on year to $8.4 billion in 2025 after last year’s tariff exchanges, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data cited by Reuters. China’s commerce ministry said Saturday that additional steps would focus on farm trade, and Reuters reported that China had resumed purchases of some U.S. farm goods after an October meeting, including soybeans, wheat cargoes and large volumes of sorghum. (scmp.com) Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said on May 15 that Washington expected China to buy “double-digit billions” of U.S. farm goods over the next three years. Reuters also reported that market watchers expected a 10% cut in soybean tariffs, which could allow private Chinese crushers to return to the market after state traders dominated purchases during the 2025 U.S. harvest. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Which market-access barriers did China say it would address? Beijing said it would work on U.S. concerns over registration of beef facilities and poultry exports from certain U.S. states. Reuters reported that China on Friday granted five-year registration extensions to 425 U.S. beef plants whose approvals had largely lapsed last year, and approved new five-year registrations for 77 additional U.S. facilities. (finance.yahoo.com) The ministry also said the two sides had agreed to reduce non-tariff barriers on some farm goods, with Chinese seafood and dairy products and American beef and poultry among the categories mentioned in the Chinese readout cited by South China Morning Post. ### Did the talks include anything beyond farm trade? China’s commerce ministry said the two sides had reached arrangements on China’s purchase of U.S. aircraft and on U.S. supply of aircraft engines and components to China. (finance.yahoo.com) South China Morning Post reported that Trump said China had agreed to buy at least 200 Boeing commercial aircraft, with a possible total of 750 under certain conditions, and that purchases of up to 450 aircraft engines from General Electric were also discussed. (scmp.com) Reuters reported before the summit that officials were considering a managed-trade mechanism covering roughly $30 billion of imports on each side in non-sensitive goods. That framework, discussed by Greer and other officials before Trump arrived in Beijing, was presented as a possible starting point for tariff reductions without touching broader export controls tied to national security. (scmp.com) ### What was left unresolved when Trump left Beijing? The New York Times reported on May 15 that Trump and Xi emphasized stability but announced no major breakthroughs on trade, Taiwan or the war in Iran. Reuters separately reported from Taipei on May 15 that Taiwan thanked Washington for reaffirming that U.S. Taiwan policy had not changed ahead of further Trump-Xi talks. Trump said on May 15 that the two countries had made “some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” according to South China Morning Post. (ca.finance.yahoo.com) Beijing, however, described the tariff, agricultural and aircraft understandings the next day as preliminary rather than final agreements. ### What happens next, and who will handle it? (nytimes.com) The next step is the creation of the trade and investment councils announced by China’s commerce ministry, with the Trade Council designated to discuss tariff cuts on specific products. Beijing said the current arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible, but neither side has yet published product lists, values or a timetable for implementation. (scmp.com) Greer is expected to remain a central U.S. participant after emerging as the administration’s lead advocate for the “Board of Trade” concept in March. On the Chinese side, the commerce ministry and senior economic officials including Vice Premier He Lifeng were involved in laying the groundwork before the summit, according to Reuters. (ca.finance.yahoo.com) (finance.yahoo.com)