Almost a month after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, many details around any deal and its implementation remain unclear. Here’s what we do know.
Almost a month after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, many details around any deal and its implementation remain unclear. Here’s what we do know.
Americans’ views of China are becoming more favorable, albeit from a low baseline, according to national polls. The shift appears to be sustained rather than short-term, with younger Americans more open to cooperation with China than older Americans. This year alone, however, Congress has held more than 35 hearings focused on China and considered more than 120 China-related provisions across the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act. That mismatch suggests that the bipartisan consensus on China is stronger among politicians than the general public.
On October 9, the CCP Central Committee and the State Council jointly released the Guidelines on Developing New Quality Productive Forces, outlining 19 measures that seek to translate technological innovation into higher productivity and industrial upgrading.
American exports to China plummeted in 2025. The plunge was the result of unprecedented tariffs in place for most of the year. China’s retaliatory tariffs impacted all product categories — especially agriculture and fossil fuels. Few regions and industries were spared from economic pain.
Trade ministers from 12 G20 countries, the EU, and Poland on Wednesday signed a US-led joint statement on addressing structural excess capacity. The statement does not directly mention China, but the sectors named in the document — autos and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors, and solar panels — are dominated by China. Six other G20 members, including China, did not sign.
USCBC interviews Andy Rothman, founder of Sinology LLC, on the potential for reviving consumption in China. Despite weak consumer confidence, he remains upbeat, pointing to top-level signaling and untapped spending potential.
This tracker monitors direct diplomatic interactions between the United States and China, documenting high-level meetings, phone calls, and official visits between American and Chinese government officials, starting with the second Trump administration.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is becoming an active avenue for US restrictions on Chinese imports. As Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Washington, the FCC’s growing actions on China shift the risk calculus for the Busan truce. While the United States may perceive import restrictions as outside the scope of the agreement reached between the countries in May 2025, China has signaled that FCC controls constitute a “serious violation.”
As Congress looks to complete its work before the midterm elections, USCBC members should closely monitor negotiations over the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual must-pass bill that sets policies and funding for the Defense Department. As in recent years, Congress is using the NDAA as a vehicle to address China-related economic and national security concerns.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are expected to meet Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend for a final round of negotiations in New York before the Trump-Xi meeting next week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call on Thursday to discuss “high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity,” according to the Chinese readout. President Donald Trump plans to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, before the September 24-25 summit.
