On 26 September 2024, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to extend the China‑US trade truce by two months. The original truce, which ended the trade war, was set to expire on 30 November 2024, so the extension keeps tariffs suspended until that date.
The summit also saw both leaders clash over artificial intelligence. Trump declared that AI should remain under the DOJ’s purview, refusing new guardrails, while Xi insisted the two nations must jointly manage AI growth under human control. Tech titans such as Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai were present at the White House state dinner, underscoring the high stakes.
Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan, urging Washington to handle the issue with prudence and oppose independence. Washington’s stance remains unchanged, and no White House statement was released, in keeping with longstanding policy.
The dinner itself was a spectacle: troops in wigs marched in the Rose Garden, while the leaders exchanged toasts praising mutual prosperity. Both sides emphasized shared history, with Trump alluding to the wartime alliance against Japan and Xi referencing the Thucydides Trap.
The two months give both sides time to negotiate broader economic reforms and outline AI cooperation frameworks. Trade talks are slated for December 2024, while an AI policy roundtable is expected to convene in early 2025.