Trump and Xi's 'stalemate' summit was a glitzy gift to China
SPY•The summit produced consensus on lowering tariffs for $60 billion of non-sensitive goods, but no adoption timeline, while a broader trade accord deadline was pushed into next year. Analysts said the meeting did little to narrow differences and gave China a public-relations win.
1. Limited trade progress
The summit’s limited outcomes highlighted the distance between Washington and Beijing, analysts said. Both sides said they had reached consensus on lowering tariffs for a $60 billion batch of non-sensitive goods, but gave no timeline for adoption, and pushed a deadline for a broader trade accord into next year.
2. Farm goods and leverage
China proposed cutting tariffs on US agricultural goods including corn and dairy, while the US will reduce levies on Chinese imports such as toys, fireworks and Christmas ornaments. Soybeans were not on China’s list, leaving those purchases potentially hostage to any deterioration in ties. Analysts also cited China’s dominance in rare earths and minerals as a source of leverage.
3. Taiwan tensions remain
China gave little indication it would help Trump end the war in Iran, and Xi pressed him on US support for Taiwan. Trump avoided the subject in public comments. An analyst said frequent leader meetings buy Beijing time on unwanted US actions, including arms sales to Taiwan.
