Consensus reached on key issues

China and the United States have reached consensus on multiple economic and trade issues during their latest round of consultations in New York, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The two sides also held their first dialogue on artificial intelligence under the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a regular news briefing.

He said the two teams held candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, reaching consensus on multiple points including implementation of existing agreements, reciprocal tariff cuts, setting up trade and investment councils, and extending the joint arrangements reached at the consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last year.

The latest consensus builds on arrangements reached earlier this year, with the two sides to continue negotiations on both tariff reduction and new mechanisms for addressing trade and investment concerns.

In July, the ministry said the two sides were exploring a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions covering goods worth $30 billion on each side, and that they would reach an agreement as soon as possible on tariff cuts for specific products and advance their implementation to further expand bilateral trade.

The establishment of trade and investment councils has also been under discussion since May, when the two countries agreed to establish the councils to discuss their respective concerns. The ministry said in July that the two sides were maintaining close communication on the trade council's structure, functions and operating arrangements.

The latest talks also addressed extending the joint arrangements reached at the Kuala Lumpur consultations, the spokesman said.

Those arrangements, reached in October 2025, provided for suspending certain tariff and nontariff measures until Nov 10, 2026, according to the ministry. The measures included US export control restrictions on entities at least 50 percent owned by listed entities, US measures targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, and corresponding Chinese countermeasures.

Meanwhile, Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, serving as the respective lead representatives of their countries, held their first dialogue on AI under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, the spokesman said.

China and the US held their first intergovernmental dialogue on AI in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2024, exchanging views on technological risks, global governance and other issues of mutual concern.

During US President Donald Trump's visit to China in May this year, the two heads of state held constructive exchanges on AI and agreed on intergovernmental dialogue on the topic, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Looking forward, He Yadong from the Ministry of Commerce noted that China will maintain close communication with the US on follow-up work under the mechanism.

The latest round of China-US consultations began in New York on Sunday.