The United States and China agreed to a $30 billion reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement and to launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence as part of an eight-point consensus reached during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The two sides welcomed the outcomes of their economic and trade consultations, including the development of mechanisms such as a Trade Council and the extension of outcomes from earlier consultations in Kuala Lumpur.
They will set up a China-US dialogue on AI and a communication channel for AI incidents, with the next round of talks planned for November.
On global issues, the two countries agreed that Iran must honor its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons and that no country or institution may charge tolls on international waterways. They also pledged to build a “constructive strategic stability relationship” based on “respect, fairness and reciprocity.”
The consensus also covers support for China hosting APEC and the United States hosting the G20, with both leaders planning to attend, continued joint counternarcotics operations, a nod to the two countries’ alliance in World War II, and a welcome for the giant pandas leased by China to Zoo Atlanta.
The Office of the US Trade Representative later released details of the framework. The two sides will set up a dialogue mechanism to review roughly $30 billion worth of non-sensitive imports each for reciprocal tariff cuts, which will be set and take effect under each country’s domestic legal procedures. Trade in the covered goods will be monitored, and proposals to expand the arrangement can be put to the leaders no more than once a year. US imports from China on the list include household and everyday consumer goods such as microwave ovens, coffee makers, shavers, food grinders and irons, while China’s list is led by agricultural and food products — live cattle, pigs, horses, sheep and poultry and their fresh or frozen meat and offal, some seafood and dairy — as well as medical equipment such as ultrasound diagnostic devices, pacemakers and MRI machines. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the package would give better market access to about 30% of US exports to China.
