US, China agree to reciprocal tariff cuts on $30bn of goods after Trump-Xi summit

China and the US have agreed to reciprocally reduce tariffs on about $30 billion worth of imports from each other, with around 90 percent of the products covered to face most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariff rates, China’s commerce ministry confirmed on Monday.The agreement was among the outcomes of economic and trade consultations held by Chinese and US teams in New York and Washington from September 20-23, the ministry, known as MOFCOM, said in a statement on Monday.The two sides will implement the tariff reductions simultaneously after completing procedures required under their respective domestic laws, it said.China and the US also agreed to establish a bilateral trade council under their economic and trade consultation mechanism, with facilitating bilateral trade as its primary task.Tariffs on US coal exports to China will be included in the reciprocal $30 billion tariff-reduction framework, which MOFCOM said would facilitate Chinese imports of US coal in 2027 and 2028.The two countries also agreed to establish an investment council and an agricultural working group jointly led by MOFCOM and the Office of the US Trade Representative.

The agricultural working group is expected to hold its first meeting before the end of 2026.The ministry said the two sides also reached an agreement in principle on financial services and established an artificial intelligence dialogue led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.The next AI dialogue is expected before the end of November, while the two sides also agreed to establish a communication channel for AI-related incidents.Trump hails ‘tremendous progress’ after meeting XiUS President Donald Trump, meanwhile, hailed the “tremendous progress” made during his summit last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.“Our nation is winning,” Trump said while speaking to reporters aboard Marine One, describing his meeting with Xi as “incredible” and noting that “it lasted for a long time.”He added that “the last three days has been very amazing,” saying “a lot of good things are happening” following the talks.Xi concluded the three-day US visit after talks with Trump, during which the two leaders agreed to build “a constructive relationship of strategic stability” based on respect, fairness and reciprocity, according to the White House.They discussed global issues including Russia, North Korea and Iran, agreeing that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon” and that no country or institution should be allowed to impose tolls on international waterways.The two countries also agreed to establish a US-China Super Intelligence Dialogue to discuss the risks and benefits of emerging technologies, while Trump advocated trilateral arms control talks involving the US, Russia and China.