U.S. and China Extend Trade Truce to January 10 After Trump’s Historic Welcome for Xi

President Donald Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac of the Joint Base Andrews military base on Wednesday evening, in a rare diplomatic gesture — the first of its kind since 1962, when John F. Kennedy welcomed British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at the airport.

Trump was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, while Xi arrived with his wife Peng Liyuan for the three-day state visit to Washington. The ceremony included a red carpet, a demonstration flyover by a B-1 Lancer bomber during the national anthem, as well as six F-16 fighter jets and six F-22s lined up on the tarmac.

“A great reception, and I think they appreciate it — wonderful people,” Trump told reporters after the ceremony.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Fox News that the two countries agreed NOT to escalate tariffs and extended the “Busan Agreement” — the trade truce that was to expire on November 10 — to January 10.

“There are some results that haven’t been perfect from the Chinese side, so we want to see, now that we’ve sat down and told them our expectations,” Bessent said.

On the agenda of the talks are tariffs, fentanyl exports, artificial intelligence, Iran and Ukraine. A senior U.S. official said the administration is dissatisfied with China’s progress in the fight against fentanyl: “China remains the overwhelming, dominant supplier of precursor chemicals to the cartels in Mexico.”

On Thursday, the visit culminates with the state dinner, which is expected to be attended by technology figures such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang and Tim Cook.

Source: New York Post