US, China form board of trade

President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed during Trump’s May 14-17 visit to Beijing to create new U.S.-China boards on trade and investment, according to a White House fact sheet released May 17. The White House said the Board of Trade will let the two governments manage bilateral trade in “non-sensitive goods,” while a separate Board of Investment will serve as a government-to-government forum on investment issues. (usnews.com) Chinese foreign ministry readouts from the May 14 summit described broader economic co-operation and said Xi told Trump that “equal consultation is the only correct choice” for handling trade frictions. (usnews.com) Beijing’s statement did not spell out the boards in the same detail as the White House, underscoring the gap between the two sides’ public descriptions even as both presented the visit as stabilizing ties. ### What is this new board supposed to do? The White House said on May 17 that the U.S.-China Board of Trade will manage bilateral trade across non-sensitive goods. The administration cast it as part of a wider package that also included Chinese commitments on rare earth supply concerns, purchases of 200 Boeing aircraft and at least $17 billion a year in U.S. farm goods in 2026 through 2028. (whitehouse.gov) Scott Bessent said in a Reuters interview published May 19 that the “Board of Trade” will initially determine about $30 billion of non-strategic goods on which the two sides can lower or eliminate tariffs. (mfa.gov.cn) He described that mechanism as part of what he called bilateral managed trade, investment and artificial-intelligence protocols that would be discussed in later negotiations. ### Are tariffs actually coming down? Bessent said the extra tariffs are currently at 10% under a temporary arrangement that expires in July. In the same May 19 Reuters interview, he said the administration was “not in a rush” to extend a separate tariff and critical-minerals trade truce with China that runs to November because, in his words, “Things are stable.” (whitehouse.gov) Bloomberg reported on May 14 that Bessent said the two countries were discussing tariff reductions on a swath of non-critical goods while they try to manage rivalry. CNBC also reported on May 16 that China’s commerce ministry said the two sides had agreed to expand agricultural trade through tariff reductions. (usnews.com) ### What is staying in place? A House of Commons Library briefing published in April said the United States imposed a 25% tariff from Jan. 14, 2026 on specific semiconductors re-exported to China and is also investigating tariffs on pharmaceuticals. (usnews.com) White House and Federal Register documents show the semiconductor action was taken under Section 232 and took effect in mid-January. Bessent told Reuters he believed China would accept restoration of prior U.S. tariff rates through new Section 301 duties “as long as they don’t go higher.” He also said the Boeing and farm-purchase deals from the Trump-Xi summit are separate from the November 2025 trade truce. (bloomberg.com) ### Why do the U.S. and Chinese accounts look different? NPR reported on May 22 that the U.S. and Chinese announcements showed minor inconsistencies on agriculture, tariffs and rare earths. The White House emphasized concrete commercial deliverables and new institutions, while China’s foreign ministry statement stressed strategic stability, consultation and continued co-operation across trade, health, agriculture, tourism and law enforcement. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The White House said Trump will welcome Xi to Washington this fall. Reuters reported that Xi is expected at the White House in September, with Bessent due to meet Vice Premier He Lifeng before then to work out more trade details, and with possible additional leader meetings at the APEC summit in November and the G20 summit in December. (usnews.com) (whitehouse.gov) (npr.org)