On Saturday, the White House unveiled a comprehensive fact sheet outlining the key elements of the recently agreed-upon trade pact between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This agreement aims to alleviate tensions between the world's two largest economies and marks a significant step in stabilizing relations following years of escalating trade disputes.
According to the White House, one of the most notable aspects of the deal is China’s commitment to issue general licenses for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite. These licenses will be valid for U.S. end users and their global suppliers, effectively removing the stringent controls that China had imposed in April 2025 and October 2022. Furthermore, both nations have agreed to postpone the more restrictive measures initially announced by Beijing in October 2025 for an additional year.
Additionally, Washington has decided to pause some of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods for another year, while also halting plans to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese exports to the U.S., which was previously slated for implementation in November. In a further sign of goodwill, the White House announced that certain Section 301 tariff exclusions, set to expire on November 29, 2025, will now be extended until November 10, 2026.
The meeting between Trump and Xi was their first face-to-face encounter of Trump's second term, and it represented a crucial moment in stabilizing U.S.-China relations. The leaders managed to reach a temporary truce amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions that had negatively impacted global markets and raised fears of an economic downturn.
Under the terms of their agreement, China has pledged to pause sweeping controls on rare-earth magnets in return for the U.S. rolling back certain restrictions on Chinese companies. China has long leveraged its dominance in rare-earth mineral processing, threatening to limit their availability to the U.S. and allied nations.
In a notable concession, the U.S. has agreed to reduce a fentanyl-related tariff from 20% to 10%. In exchange, China has committed to resuming purchases of American agricultural products, including 12 million metric tons of soybeans during the current season and a minimum of 25 million metric tons annually for the subsequent three years. Trump expressed optimism about further reducing the fentanyl-related tariffs, contingent on China’s continued efforts to curb the export of the drug and its precursor chemicals.
In a move aimed at alleviating concerns regarding chip shipments crucial for automotive production, the U.S. announced that Beijing will allow Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV to resume shipments from its Chinese facilities. This step is expected to mitigate fears stemming from the trade conflict between the two nations.
However, while this trade pact has temporarily eased tensions, experts caution that it may serve only as a short-term solution in an ongoing trade conflict. The agreement addresses some pressing issues and includes significant concessions from both sides, yet it does not comprehensively resolve the underlying challenges of the U.S.-China trade fight, nor does it tackle broader geopolitical concerns related to Taiwan and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
As part of the ongoing negotiations, Trump has also approved a plan for an American consortium to acquire the U.S. operations of ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok app, although formal approval from Beijing is still pending. Additionally, the U.S. president has indicated that there will be cooperation in the energy sector, with China agreeing to purchase oil and gas from Alaska.
This trade agreement represents a significant moment in U.S.-China relations, providing a framework for future cooperation while highlighting the complexities of international trade dynamics.