China, US Move Toward Tariff Cuts 

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Trump says that Xi opposes nuclear weapons for Iran. Credit: Reuters

China said on Wednesday it would work with the United States on reducing tariffs affecting billions of dollars in goods, days after United States President Donald Trump visited Beijing.

The world’s two largest economies spent much of 2025 locked in an escalating trade dispute before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce during talks in South Korea last October.

China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that a new trade council had now been established following last week’s summit, with both sides agreeing in principle to discuss a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions on goods of equivalent scale.

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According to the ministry, the proposed cuts could affect products worth more than $30 billion on each side.

US President Donald Trump (L) meets with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of their visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. Credit: AFP.

Beijing said it hoped Washington would honour commitments made during the latest round of negotiations, while also calling for an extension of previous trade truce arrangements.

Analysts, however, said the proposed reductions were unlikely to significantly alter economic growth forecasts, although they described the development as a positive step toward stabilising bilateral relations.

The commerce ministry also announced that China would restore registrations for some US beef exporters after they lapsed during last year’s trade tensions.

It further confirmed that China would purchase 200 aircraft from Boeing, though details of the aircraft models were not disclosed.

On rare earth exports, the ministry said both countries would continue discussions aimed at addressing each other’s concerns in the strategically important sector.

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