China and US establish trade and investment committees, cut tariffs on 30 billion dollars of goods
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China's Ministry of Commerce reported that China and the United States held the eighth round of economic and trade talks in New York City and Washington, D.C. between September 20 and 23, reaching a positive consensus that supports the economic and trade outcomes of the meeting between the two countries' leaders. Both sides agreed to establish a trade committee under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, whose main goal is to optimize bilateral trade, and to set up an investment committee as well as an agricultural working group under the trade committee, co-chaired by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The first meeting will be held before the end of 2026. Under the trade committee, the two sides held several rounds of discussions on an agreement to reduce retaliatory tariffs worth 30 billion US dollars, or about 1 trillion baht, and reached several agreements, agreeing to cut tariffs on a reciprocal basis, under which about 90 percent of the goods covered by the agreement will be reduced to the most-favored-nation rate, or MFN, and the reductions will take effect simultaneously after each side completes its domestic legal procedures. The United States will cut tariffs on imports from China such as toys, household electrical appliances, baby products, kitchen and bathroom goods, and holiday gifts, while China will cut tariffs on imports from the United States such as agricultural goods, personal care products, medical equipment, and coal. The two sides' economic and trade working group agreed to include imports of US coal in the framework for mutual reduction of retaliatory tariffs, which is expected to support imports of US coal into China in 2027-2028. In addition, China and the United States reached a consensus in principle on financial services, with China to review and approve applications from financial services institutions of all countries, including US-funded institutions, to conduct business and set up branches in China. Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent established consultations on artificial intelligence and held the first discussions on related risks and benefits, with both sides agreeing to hold the next round of talks before the end of November and to set up a communication channel on AI-related incidents. Both sides also agreed to discuss extending the joint agreement of the economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, until January 10, 2027, and exchanged views on increasing direct passenger flights between the two countries. Since 2025, China and the United States have held a total of eight rounds of economic and trade talks.