Trump offers Xi $30 billion in tariff cuts to repair U.S.-China trade ties

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday with trade at the center of the agenda, alongside Taiwan, Iran and technology issues. U.S. and Chinese officials have been preparing a narrow tariff-cut framework covering non-sensitive goods rather than a broad reset of the trade relationship. Reuters reported that both sides could identify about $30 billion of goods each for reduced tariffs under a proposed managed-trade mechanism. The talks come after months of tariff escalation that cut into bilateral commerce and pushed companies to shift supply chains. ### How small is the tariff package under discussion? Reuters reported on May 13 that the package under discussion would likely cover about $30 billion in goods on each side, while Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator now at the Asia Society Policy Center, said the basket being discussed was closer to $30 billion to $50 billion. That would leave most existing tariffs and export controls in place, especially in sectors tied to national security. (zawya.com) Wendy Cutler said this “non-sensitive basket” is now only a small part of overall U.S.-China trade, reflecting how much commerce has already been rerouted or restricted. The proposal is narrower than earlier U.S. demands that China change its state-led economic model. ### What is the “Board of Trade” both sides are weighing? (zawya.com) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer first floated a U.S.-China “Board of Trade” in March as a mechanism to manage disputes and set numerical trade targets, according to Reuters and other reports citing his remarks in Paris. The idea is to create a channel for trade in goods that do not cross U.S. or Chinese national-security red lines. (zawya.com) Jamieson Greer told Fox Business, as quoted by Reuters, that the administration was not trying to remake China’s governing system but to find where trade could be “optimize[d]” for more balance. Reuters said Greer described the mechanism as an “adapter” between two incompatible economic systems. ### Why are the two sides talking about a narrow deal instead of a broad one? (zawya.com) The Trump administration entered 2026 with a tougher public posture on China, but the current talks reflect a more limited objective: keeping some trade moving while preserving restrictions on strategic sectors. Reuters said the shift is clear in the administration’s move away from demanding structural change in China’s economy. (zawya.com) Associated Press reported that the tariff war had sent U.S.-China trade into a “freefall,” while U.S. News, republishing AP, said China’s share of total U.S. trade had fallen to 6.4% last year from more than 13% a decade earlier. Companies on both sides have already moved production, suppliers or customers to countries such as Vietnam, India, Europe and Southeast Asia. (zawya.com) ### What else is hanging over the summit besides tariffs? Xi Jinping told Trump at the opening session that a major question was whether the two countries could avoid the “Thucydides Trap,” according to CNBC’s account of the official Chinese broadcast. CNBC reported that Taiwan, Iran, artificial intelligence and rare earths were also expected to be discussed during the summit. (apnews.com) Reuters and other outlets have reported that the trade talks are taking place alongside broader security tensions, including U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and continuing controls on advanced technology. That means any tariff thaw is being negotiated inside a relationship still defined by rivalry in security-sensitive areas. (cnbc.com) ### What should readers watch for next? Thursday’s meetings in Beijing were scheduled to continue through Friday, with both leaders expected to hold multiple sessions during the visit. Reuters reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Incheon on Wednesday to prepare economic proposals, but no joint statement was issued after that session. (zawya.com) Any concrete list of goods may come later rather than from the leaders themselves. Reuters said it was still unclear whether Trump and Xi would define specific products in Beijing or leave that to subsequent meetings by trade and economic officials. (zawya.com)