Beijing talks pivot: Trump and Xi discuss $30 billion in tariff cuts

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping opened talks in Beijing on Thursday with trade officials on both sides discussing tariff cuts on roughly $30 billion of imports and a new channel for lower-sensitivity goods, according to Reuters and other news reports. The meeting put trade back at the center of a summit that also includes the Iran war, Taiwan and technology restrictions, but the immediate economic focus was narrower than the broader decoupling language that has dominated U.S.-China relations in recent years. The $30 billion figure matters because it suggests a limited package rather than a broad rollback of the tariff architecture built over years of trade conflict. Reuters reported that officials were considering goods each side could sell to the other without crossing national-security red lines, with the arrangement framed as a managed trade mechanism for non-sensitive products. One version under discussion would have each side identify roughly equivalent baskets of goods for tariff relief. (usnews.com) Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, had earlier floated what Reuters described as a “Board of Trade” as a possible summit deliverable. The idea, as outlined in pre-summit reporting, was not a return to open-ended commercial integration but a structured process for handling trade in categories that both governments still regard as permissible. That would leave in place the larger restrictions tied to advanced technology, export controls and security policy. (usnews.com) Beijing was the setting for the talks after Trump arrived on May 13 for a visit running through May 15, according to reports citing the Chinese foreign ministry and summit coverage from Beijing. AP reported that the administration was seeking deals that could include more Chinese purchases of U.S. goods, while Reuters said expectations for the summit had been kept modest and focused on preserving a trade truce and stabilizing parts of the commercial relationship. (usnews.com) China’s side has also signaled that any progress would be bounded. Reuters reported ahead of the meeting that both governments were looking for ways to keep trade moving in areas outside their most sensitive disputes. That approach fits a pattern visible in recent months: officials continued consultations on rare earths and other supply-chain issues even after the summit was postponed from late March to mid-May. (apnews.com) The summit’s trade agenda sits alongside harder disputes that neither side appears ready to resolve this week. Reuters and AP both reported that the leaders were also expected to discuss the Iran war, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and technology controls. Those issues help explain why the trade package under discussion is targeted: it is built around goods that can move without forcing either government to relax policies it has tied to security. (usnews.com) Business groups and companies have been watching for signs of practical relief rather than a sweeping reset. Reuters reported before the trip that administration officials had debated how much to involve chief executives in the Beijing visit, with Greer seeking to keep the focus on managed trade. CNBC, citing White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, said the administration’s stated goal was to rebalance the relationship with China and restore what it called reciprocity and fairness. (msn.com) May 15 is the next concrete marker. The leaders’ meetings in Beijing are scheduled to continue through Friday, and Reuters reported that any detailed tariff lists or formal follow-up process could be left to later work by U.S. and Chinese trade officials rather than settled personally by Trump and Xi at the summit. (msn.com) (usnews.com)