Washington | Financial Times The United States has called on China to comply with the terms of the truce in the trade war signed by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Busan last year, amid frustration with the fact that Beijing is not honoring its commitments regarding rare earth exports.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer conveyed the message in a call on Friday morning with He Lifeng, Chinese vice premier in charge of trade negotiations with Washington.
"Secretary Bessent emphasized the importance of China immediately implementing the commitments made in Busan and expressed concern about the country's recent actions," the Treasury said in a statement about the conversation obtained by the Financial Times.
"He stressed that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the US will carefully evaluate China's implementation of the agreement," he added.
The Busan truce, agreed in the South Korean port city in October 2025, expires on January 10. When Xi visited Washington in September, the two sides extended the original deadline by two months to January 2027 after negotiators were unable to resolve differences between the countries.
A US official said Bessent and Greer made clear that Trump considered the situation a "priority" and that China needed to fulfill promises made in Busan.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) later on Friday, Greer said: "I highlighted the crucial importance of China taking concrete steps to fully implement its previous commitments, particularly those related to agricultural purchases, rare earths and other essential minerals."
The warning comes two weeks before the scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi in Shenzhen, where China will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The Financial Times reported last week that Xi may host Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for a trilateral meeting.
The trade issue is not expected to occupy much of the Trump-Xi meeting in Shenzhen, but it will almost certainly be discussed in more detail when the US and Chinese presidents meet at the G20 in Miami in December.
Bessent and Greer are expected to meet in person with their Chinese counterparts sometime between Apec and the G20.
In September, US officials told the FT that China was only meeting two-thirds of its Busan rare earths pledge. A person familiar with the situation said Beijing had not increased supplies of rare earths since Bessent raised concerns directly to He in New York in September, ahead of Xi's meeting with Trump in Washington.
China has rejected US claims that it is not living up to its commitments on rare earths. The US concluded that China is honoring its promises to purchase soybeans, but has not fulfilled its promises regarding other agricultural products.
The U.S. is also concerned about Chinese restrictions on exporting yttrium — a rare earth essential for everything from jet engines to missiles — to Japan, which produces components for U.S.-made products. Japanese companies have warned their country's government that inventories are reaching dangerously low levels.
Craig Singleton, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank, said Treasury's warning to Beijing was delivered in "pretty sharp diplomatic language."
"Washington appears unwilling to negotiate new concessions until Beijing fulfills existing commitments," he added. "If the two sides cannot even reach a consensus on what they have already promised each other, extending the truce could become considerably more complicated."
The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing would release a statement on the call "in due course."
"Both sides need to move in the same direction, adhere to mutual benefit and win-win results, and promote the continuous and stable development and improvement of China-U.S. economic and trade ties," said Liu Chang, spokesperson for the embassy.
