- Negotiations
Washington and Beijing began formal negotiations towards a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in June 2008. A year later, the highly sensitive talks were halted until July 2013. The US is interested in getting Chinese restrictions on foreign ownership in about 100 sectors — from soybean oil and automobiles to life insurance and other financial services — lifted for US companies which want to expand their market presence there. The Chinese government is interested in getting more security for highly-scrutinised Chinese investments in the US and its massive holdings of US sovereign debt ($1.3 trillion).
In late 2013, China agreed to initiate talks on a possible BIT with the European Union as well.
July 2014
13-May-2025
France 24
The United States and China announced a joint agreement to dramatically slash reciprocal tariffs as Washington and Beijing seek to end a trade war that for months has upended the global economy and set financial markets teetering on collapse.
7-May-2025
Kyodo
The United States and China will hold talks to de-escalate trade tensions, in the first known high-level in-person contact between representatives of the world’s two largest economies since President Donald Trump unleashed hefty tariffs on imports.
2-May-2025
CNN
China has signaled a slight softening in its stance by stating it is "currently assessing" US proposals to start trade talks, potentially opening the door for negotiations amid ongoing tariff tensions. While Beijing insists that the US must show "genuine sincerity" by removing its unilateral tariffs first, it remains open to dialogue.
23-Apr-2025
Fortune
President Donald Trump said he plans to be “very nice” to China in any trade talks and that tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal, a sign he may be backing down from his tough stance on Beijing amid market volatility.
20-Feb-2025
Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump said it would be possible to reach a fresh trade deal with China, signaling he is open to heading off a brewing trade fight between Washington and Beijing.
4-Feb-2025
Reuters
La Chine prépare une proposition pour entamer des négociations avec les États-Unis, après que M. Trump a imposé un tarif de 10 % sur les marchandises en provenance de Pékin, ont indiqué des sources.
15-Feb-2023
Reuters
Beijing promised to speed up access to its market under the Phase 1 trade deal concluded with the United States in 2020.
7-Feb-2022
Reuters
US officials called for "concrete action" from China to make good on its commitment to purchase $200 billion in additional US goods and services under the "Phase 1" trade deal signed by former President Trump.
25-Jan-2022
Bloomberg
The landmark trade deal signed in 2020 between the world’s two largest economies failed to reduce the bilateral trade deficit.
13-Jan-2022
Reuters
China hopes the United States can create conditions to expand trade cooperation, after Chinese purchases of U.S. goods in the past two years fell short of the targets in a Trump-era trade deal.
