US, China open high-level talks ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Top economic officials from China and the United States have begun talks in New York City aimed at clearing the way for possible agreements on trade, artificial intelligence and critical minerals ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began talks at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters on Sunday morning, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also taking part. "I'm looking forward to having focused, fulsome and constructive talks today that will set the stage for our leaders' meeting," Bessent told reporters as he arrived. At the top of the agenda is a fragile US-China trade truce due to expire on November 10. The agreement, reached in Busan, South Korea, last November, capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20 percent after a tit-for-tat trade fight briefly pushed tariffs into the triple digits.