NEW YORK, September 20 — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat down with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in Manhattan on Sunday, continuing talks on the U.S.-China economic and trade relationship ahead of a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joined the meeting. In a post on X, Bessent said the talks help lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance America’s economic interests and deliver results for the American people.
Greer, in a statement ahead of the session, said the two countries are deepening their engagement to facilitate mutually beneficial trade between the two largest economies in the world.
AI dialogue and a transparency push
After the meeting, Bessent told reporters he had a very successful conversation on trade and AI, and that the two countries agreed to meet again for further AI dialogue. He said they discussed a proposed notification mechanism between the U.S. and China on national security-related AI incidents, framing the development as moving from opaque to more transparency between the two top AI powers.
On tariffs, Bessent said the U.S. and China are working through the newly operationalized board of trade to identify a set of non-sensitive goods that could be traded in a balanced way. That basket includes consumer and low-tech items, energy products, agricultural goods and, potentially, medical devices.
Keeping the leaders’ relationship on track
Bessent and Greer said of the meeting in general, most importantly, what we’re doing is we’re helping President Trump and President Xi continue their relationship. Greer added that the Trump administration will continue to pursue balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American farmers, manufacturers, and workers. He Lifeng oversees China’s economy, and the Manhattan setting put the talks on American ground.
The meeting comes as artificial intelligence looms large over the planned leaders’ summit later this week. What to watch next: whether the two sides set a date for the follow-up AI dialogue, and whether the board of trade produces a concrete list of non-sensitive goods before Trump and Xi meet.
