Azerbaijan signs investment agreements exceeding $10 billion, and China and the United States agree to reduce customs duties by $30 billion.

An aide to the Azerbaijani president said on Saturday that Azerbaijan signed agreements during an international forum in Baku representing potential investments worth more than $10 billion, at a time when the country also announced a series of energy agreements.

The Azerbaijani National Oil Company “SOCAR”, the French “Total Energies” and the “XRG” company in Abu Dhabi reached the final investment decision for the full development of the “Absheron” gas and condensate field.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the second phase of the Absheron field, one of the largest offshore fields in the Caspian Sea, will increase Azerbaijan’s gas production by about five billion cubic meters within three to four years.

“Oil and gas will continue to dominate our economy and generate wealth that will be reinvested,” Aliyev said at the International Investment Forum in Azerbaijan. He added that the non-oil sector now represents more than 70 percent of GDP, while oil and gas still constitute more than 90 percent of exports.

Azerbaijan exports gas mainly to Europe and Turkey, as about half of its exports, amounting to 25 billion cubic meters last year, went to European Union countries.

The expansion comes at a time when disruptions to global energy supplies have heightened concerns about security of supply, although any further increase in Azerbaijani exports to Europe would require additional pipeline capacity.

SOCAR and ExxonMobil, the major American energy company, signed a production-sharing agreement to explore, develop and produce unconventional oil and gas resources in the central Kura Basin in Azerbaijan, with each party owning a 50 percent stake and ExxonMobil operating the project.

Aliyev also said that the volume of goods passing through the country is expected to reach 16 million tons this year, with a target of reaching 25 million tons or more by 2030, adding that the government is in negotiations with international companies, which he did not name, to develop data centers and artificial intelligence technologies in Azerbaijan.

China and the United States have agreed to a mutual arrangement to reduce customs duties worth $30 billion and launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, as part of an eight-point consensus reached by the two countries during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States.

The ministry said that the two sides praised the work of their economic teams, and approved steps that include forming a trade council and the arrangement to reduce customs duties, and extending the results of previous talks in Kuala Lumpur.

The United States and China had previously agreed to extend a trade truce for two months, which was scheduled to end on November 10. US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said on Wednesday that this allows more time to work on a trade agreement that may be more comprehensive.

The leaders of the world's two largest economies concluded a 3-day summit that was more of a show of personal diplomacy than an opportunity to achieve a major announced breakthrough. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday that Xi had returned to Beijing.

Regarding artificial intelligence, the ministry said that the two sides agreed to launch a dialogue to discuss the risks and benefits of technology, with the next round of discussions to be held in November, and to establish a communication channel for incidents related to artificial intelligence.

They also agreed to exchange support in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting in China and the G20 summit in the United States, and the two leaders indicated their intention to participate in the event hosted by the other party.

Regarding foreign policy, the ministry said that the two leaders agreed that Iran should fulfill its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country or entity should impose fees on crossing international waterways. They recalled memories of when China and the United States were allies in World War II.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to increase imports from the United States at the expense of other countries, with the aim of reducing the imbalance in trade exchange between the two countries, an issue that displeases her counterpart, Donald Trump.

Mexico's exports to the United States far exceed its imports from its neighbor and first trading partner, which led to a trade surplus for Mexico of $197 billion last year.

Trump accuses the countries with which the United States has a trade deficit of exploiting the largest economy in the world, and has resorted to imposing customs duties to punish them.

Sheinbaum noted that Mexico already buys more American goods and services than any other country, but she pledged to do more in this regard.

She said: “We aim to buy more from the United States and reduce our purchases from other countries, which will reduce the trade deficit with them.”

Her response to Trump's dismay over the trade deficit comes at a time when her government is trying to convince Washington to reduce tariffs on a range of Mexican goods.

The two countries, along with Canada, are part of a free trade agreement, the fate of which has become uncertain since Trump returned to the White House last year.

Trump launched an all-out trade war against Canada, ignoring the existence of this agreement.

Although his approach towards Mexico was less harsh, Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Mexican aluminum and steel imports as part of global tariff measures, and also targeted the vital Mexican auto sector.

Sheinbaum said last week that her government was making progress in talks with Washington regarding reducing customs duties.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard is scheduled to travel to Washington next week to continue these talks.