Washington Update

The House passed a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026 on Wednesday, with the Senate set to consider the legislation early next week. The bill, which had been delayed by last-minute negotiations that covered China issues, is considered the only must-pass legislation for Congress before the end of the year. The White House on Monday confirmed that President Donald Trump will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

The United States and China continue to uphold their truce. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that China is poised to keep “every part of the deal,” and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer further assured on Thursday that the United States is “prioritizing stability” in the bilateral relationship.

This week, the United States and China continued to take action on commitments made during the leaders’ meeting in October.

The United States and China are both taking concrete steps to implement the stability measures discussed by President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in South Korea last month.

The White House on Saturday published a fact sheet outlining the main components of the consensus reached between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea last week. The document reaffirms commitments reported after the leaders’ meeting.

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Thursday met in South Korea for their first in-person engagement of Trump’s second term. Trump called it a “truly great” meeting and emphasized the “enormous respect” between the United States and China. He fashioned the commitments made during the meeting as a one-year deal that the countries will re-negotiate annually.

Bilateral tensions flared over the weekend after China announced new export controls on rare earth elements. The move was a response to the Commerce Department’s “50% rule,” which was released late last month and dramatically expanded the number of Chinese firms on the Entity List.

The Senate on Thursday passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026. The new version includes several China provisions that were excluded from the package offered in mid-September. The bill now moves forward to conference with the House, which passed its version earlier in September.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Tuesday published an interim final rule broadening the reach of its export controls blacklist. Under the new provision, any entity that is at least 50% owned by one or more entities on the list will itself automatically be subject to Entity List restrictions.

Senior executives of USCBC member companies on Thursday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in New York. Members discussed market access issues and the need for a level playing field and predictable, stable business environment for US companies in China. They also highlighted the importance of ongoing dialogue between senior US and Chinese leaders.