US presses China on rare earths, farm goods commitments

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng that Beijing must fulfill its commitments on rare earth minerals and agricultural products as both countries prepare for a possible September meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Bessent said he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held talks with He ahead of the potential meeting at the White House.

"In our discussion, I emphasized that we expect Beijing to fully meet its commitments on rare earths and U.S. agricultural products," Bessent said in a post on X. "We also discussed implementation of the Trade and Investment Boards as a mechanism to secure concrete progress toward a more balanced, fair and constructive U.S.-China economic relationship."

The talks were the first direct discussions between He, Bessent and Greer since Trump's May summit with Xi in Beijing, where both leaders emphasized strategic stability and launched new bilateral trade and investment forums.

Trump administration officials have described China's pledge to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft and an additional $17 billion worth of U.S. non-soybean agricultural products as key outcomes from that meeting. They have also said China has only partially fulfilled its obligations to deliver rare earth minerals under a November 2025 trade truce.

U.S. raises concerns over Chinese restrictions

Ahead of the May summit, China introduced new regulations that could allow it to penalize U.S. and other foreign companies moving supply chains out of the country.

China has since expanded export controls on U.S. rare earth mining and processing companies, as well as a motor manufacturer, citing alleged links to the U.S. military and limiting access to dual-use technologies.

The move followed the U.S. designation of Chinese electric vehicle makers BYD and NIO, along with technology companies Alibaba and Baidu, as entities allegedly supporting China's military.

A source familiar with the ongoing U.S.-China negotiations said Washington views China's recent commercial policies and export restrictions as a concern.

"The U.S. has raised these concerns repeatedly within their trade and economic channel and provided China time to reverse course, but China has continued to escalate and cause chaos," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

"China's continued escalations will have consequences," the source added, without providing further details.

China's state news agency Xinhua reported that the two sides held "frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges" on implementing agreements reached during the Beijing summit.

China also expressed concern over recent U.S. trade restrictions and said both sides agreed to use existing consultation channels to strengthen communication, build trust and expand cooperation to promote a stable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship.

-Reporting by David Lawder, Doina Chiacu and Bhargav Acharya; Additional reporting by Yukun Zhang, Shi Bu and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and Will Dunham/Reuters