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Senior U.S. and Chinese officials exchanged concerns over trade restrictions and the implementation of existing agreements during "frank" talks Friday, ahead of an expected meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at an Asia-Pacific summit in China later this month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a phone call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss economic and trade commitments made over the past year, according to statements from both governments.
The American officials emphasized "the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments" and raised "concerns about recent Chinese actions", the U.S. Treasury Department said.
He, meanwhile, expressed "serious concerns over recent economic and trade restrictive measures imposed by the United States", according to a Chinese state media report shared Saturday by Beijing's Commerce Ministry.
The Chinese account described the discussions as "frank, in-depth and constructive", although it did not specify which U.S. measures He had criticized.
Bessent "underscored that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the United States will closely assess China's implementation of the arrangement", the Treasury Department said.
The discussions focused partly on commitments reached during a meeting between Trump and Xi in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in October 2025.
The agreement followed months of escalating tariffs between the world's two largest economies and sought to ease trade tensions.
Under the arrangement, China committed to purchasing U.S. soybeans through 2028, suspending new export controls on rare earths and issuing general licenses for exports of the critical materials.
The agreement initially covered one year, but Washington and Beijing extended the trade truce until Jan. 10, 2027, during Xi's visit to the White House in September.
Trade experts have identified Chinese rare-earth exports as a major source of friction between the two countries.
The materials are essential to manufacturing products ranging from smartphones and automobiles to military equipment.
Despite their disagreements, both sides agreed during Friday's call to "properly manage differences" and promote a "stable" U.S.-China trade relationship, according to Beijing's Commerce Ministry.
In a separate statement Saturday, China's Commerce Ministry reiterated its "firm" opposition to new U.S. sanctions targeting Cuba that also affected two Chinese companies.
An unnamed ministry spokesperson said Washington's recent sanctions "escalation" against China contradicted the consensus reached between Trump and Xi.
The ministry did not provide further details on the measures discussed during Friday's call.
The latest trade discussions came ahead of this year's APEC summit, scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen, China.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet during the gathering, providing another opportunity to address outstanding economic disputes.
The summit could also host a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China's Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that Beijing was in contact with Washington and Moscow about the possibility of such a meeting.
However, no trilateral talks have been confirmed.
The upcoming summit will bring renewed attention to the implementation of the existing U.S.-China trade agreement, particularly Beijing's commitments on agricultural purchases and rare-earth exports, as both governments seek to manage continuing economic disagreements.
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