No tariff breakthrough — Trump leaves Beijing with $30bn tariffs unresolved

President Donald Trump left Beijing on May 15 after two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping without announcing a new agreement on tariffs, Taiwan or Iran. Chinese and U.S. officials instead pointed to new channels for trade and investment talks and described the summit in broadly positive terms. Trump called the visit constructive in public remarks during the trip, while Xi used the meeting to set out what Beijing called a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.” The result was a summit that produced process and language, but no immediate rollback of the tariff dispute that still hangs over roughly $30 billion of goods. ### If Trump and Xi met face to face, why was there no tariff breakthrough? May 15 was the end of Trump’s state visit to China, and no joint statement announced a tariff settlement. Bloomberg reported that Trump said he did not discuss extending a tariff truce with Xi, even as both sides agreed in principle to create trade and investment boards. Reuters reported before the summit that U.S. and Chinese officials were expected to explore cuts on about $30 billion of imports under a managed-trade approach for non-sensitive goods. That proposal was still under discussion by the time Trump departed Beijing, according to reporting from Reuters and Politico’s account of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks. (bloomberg.com) ### What did Bessent say the two sides were actually building? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on May 14 that the administration was discussing a “board of investment” with China and was also talking about a “board of trade.” In a CNBC interview cited by Politico, Bessent said the investment board would identify “nonstrategic, nonsensitive areas” where Chinese investment in the United States could be considered while addressing security concerns. (usnews.com) Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, later said the two countries had reached common understandings and would make better use of communication channels. Bloomberg, citing Wang’s briefing, said both governments would work to establish councils on trade and investment, with working-level teams still needing to discuss details before implementation. ### What was Xi trying to put on the record? Xi Jinping told Trump on May 14 at the Great Hall of the People that the two leaders had agreed on “a new vision” of building a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.” China’s foreign ministry said Xi described that formula as cooperation as the mainstay, competition kept within proper limits, manageable differences and “expectable peace.” (mfa.gov.cn) (politico.com) Guo Jiakun, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, repeated that formulation at a May 14 press conference, saying both leaders agreed that the new positioning would guide ties in the next three years and beyond. Wang Yi used similar language in a May 15 briefing, calling the summit “open, thorough, constructive, and strategic” and saying the two presidents reached “a number of common understandings.” (mfa.gov.cn) ### Did the summit settle the other disputes Trump brought to Beijing? China’s foreign ministry said Xi and Trump exchanged views on the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, but it did not announce any concrete agreement on Iran. Guo said only that China’s position on Hormuz was “consistent and clear.” Politico reported that Bessent said China would work with Iran to reopen the strait because it was in Beijing’s interest, but that was presented as his expectation, not as a signed commitment. (mfa.gov.cn) Taiwan also remained unresolved. Chinese official readouts emphasized broad principles for managing differences and expanding communication channels, but they did not announce a new framework on the issue. ### So what, concretely, came out of Beijing? May 14 produced a Chinese readout saying the previous day’s economic and trade meetings had generated “generally balanced and positive outcomes.” That language stopped short of identifying tariff lines, dates, or legal steps for removing duties. (mfa.gov.cn) The clearest deliverables were procedural. Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13 and departed on May 15, according to White House postings, and the governments left the summit pointing to follow-on work by trade and investment teams rather than a signed tariff package. (mfa.gov.cn) May 18-19 is the next dated milestone in China’s diplomatic calendar. Guo said Shanghai will host the second APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting on those dates, after nearly 40 related meetings from May 11 to 17, with trade and investment among the agenda items. (mfa.gov.cn 1) (mfa.gov.cn 2) (whitehouse.gov)