US urges China to honour Busan trade deal commitments

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to urge Beijing to immediately implement commitments under the Busan trade agreement.

“Secretary Bessent emphasised the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions. He underscored that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the United States will closely assess China’s implementation of the arrangement,” the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement announcing the discussions on Friday.

The announcement refers to a trade deal negotiated between Washington and Beijing in which US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to ease tariffs and lift restrictions on tech to de-escalate tensions amid tit-for-tat tariffs imposed first by Washington and then by Beijing.

On Thursday, China said it was open to buying more US farm goods if the world’s two largest economies agreed to implement the reciprocal tariff cut.

“China has consistently been open to expanding purchases of agricultural products from the US, but only on the condition that the two sides implement their agreed ’30 billion for 30 billion’ reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Huang Ling said in a statement.

The move follows a September meeting between Trump and Xi, when the White House proposed $60bn in cuts, including $17bn worth of US farm goods.

In May, the White House said Beijing agreed to buy $17bn of US agricultural goods annually from 2026, with this year’s target adjusted on a prorated basis. Those purchases were in addition to a commitment made last October to buy US soya beans.

“Secretary Bessent reiterated the Trump Administration’s commitment to pursuing trade and economic policies that benefit American workers, farmers, and businesses and strengthen U.S. economic and national security,” the Treasury added.