Top U.S. and Chinese negotiators will meet in Washington from September 19 to 23, 2026, for final preparatory talks ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit for a summit with President Donald Trump on September 24. The talks, led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, will cover tariffs and artificial intelligence, among other economic issues. China has rejected new U.S. sanctions targeting countries that buy Russian oil and gas, including imposing 100% tariffs; however, both sides are also negotiating a reciprocal tariff reduction framework covering products worth $30 billion from each country.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, met with He Lifeng, Chinese Vice Premier, on September 20, 2026, in New York City ahead of a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping scheduled for September 24 in Washington. The talks focused on trade issues, tariffs, rare earth minerals, and artificial intelligence (AI), setting the stage for discussions at the leaders' meeting. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the all-day session held at JPMorgan Chase's headquarters. Treasury Secretary Bessent called the engagement "very successful," emphasizing a proposed mechanism to enhance communication on AI security threats between the two nations. The summit aims to ease tensions and address economic and strategic concerns, though analysts predict limited breakthroughs due to ongoing great power competition. Markets responded positively to news of the productive talks, with Asian stocks advancing on Monday.
Written for “US-China Trade Talks Ahead Summit” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 29 other(s) covering the same event.
Top U.S. and Chinese negotiators will hold final preparatory talks in Washington from Saturday (September 19, 2026), including on tariffs, ahead of President Xi Jinping's expected visit to the United States for a summit with his counterpart Donald Trump, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said.
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Ministry → hold → Beijing
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead a delegation to Washington from September 19 to 23, where the two sides will discuss economic and trade issues of mutual concern, guided by the consensus reached by Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump, the Ministry said.
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Ministry → lead → Xi
The talks come ahead of Mr. Xi's expected visit to Washington next week.
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talks → come → Washington
Although Beijing is yet to officially announce the trip, U.S. media reports have said that Mr. Xi is expected to arrive on September 23 and meet Mr. Trump the following day.
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Xi → announce → Trump
Mr. Trump plans to accord a rare airport reception to Mr. Xi by personally receiving him on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews when the Chinese President arrives, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported earlier.
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Post → plan → Andrews
The two leaders last met in Beijing in May during Mr. Trump's visit, when they held talks aimed at improving ties between the world's two largest economies.
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they → meet → economies
Vice Premier He is set to hold talks with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on a wide range of issues, including tariffs and artificial intelligence.
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He → set → tariffs
Mr. Bessent confirmed the talks, saying he looked forward to meeting Vice Premier He and continuing their “very good private discussions”.
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he → confirm → discussions
The talks assume significance in the immediate backdrop of Mr. Trump signing a new sanctions bill to impose 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India.
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Trump → assume → China
Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on Friday (September 18, 2026).
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Trump → sign → Friday
The law authorises expanded sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia and countries that buy its energy exports.
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that → authorise → exports
China has rejected U.S. attempts to impose tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil and gas, saying normal trade cooperation between countries should not be subject to interference by third parties.
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cooperation → reject → parties
“China engages in normal economic and trade cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday (September 17, 2026).
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Jiakun → engage → Thursday
“Such cooperation does not target any third party and shall be free from disruption or coercion from any third party.
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cooperation → target → party
China opposes long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and lack UN Security Council mandate,” he said.
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he → oppose → mandate
Despite the tariff threat, Washington and Beijing are also negotiating a reciprocal tariff reduction framework covering products worth $30 billion from each side, China's Commerce Ministry said.
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Ministry → negotiate → side
The consultations aim to reach a reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement at the earliest possible date, ministry spokesperson Huang Ling said.
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Ling → aim → date
Ahead of the summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also held a telephone conversation on Thursday focusing on high-level exchanges between the two countries.
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Yi → hold → countries
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) and held talks with Mr. Wang, during which he said Tehran was not interested in continuing its conflict with the U.S. and wanted to return to a diplomatic solution.
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Tehran → visit → solution
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