Trump-Xi Summit Yields $30 Billion Tariff Rollback but Few Major Breakthroughs

The tariff rollback, released Monday morning Beijing time, was the most detailed outcome of the summit. American consumers would get cheaper curtains, sports equipment and Christmas lights. Chinese buyers would get a discount on U.S. beef, soymeal and other agricultural products, with American ice cream also on the list. The truce extension keeps tariffs lower and rare earths flowing for another two months.

Beyond those measures, the official readouts did not make much headway on major issues, the newsletter said. The second summit of the year was described as spectacle-heavy and aimed more at domestic audiences than at reaching tangible outcomes.

Cameron Johnson, Shanghai-based senior partner of consultancy Tidal Wave Solutions, told the newsletter on Monday that both sides were signaling not to each other but to their own sides. He said neither side can do a whole lot in technology without the other, making it important for both sides to signal to their own apparatus that it is okay to have some competition.

Over the weekend, The Information reported, citing sources, that the Chinese government has signaled it could allow some domestic companies such as ByteDance and Alibaba to buy Nvidia’s chip built for high-end professional computers. While the U.S. has agreed to let Nvidia sell some less advanced chips to China, there have been few signs that Chinese companies were allowed to buy them amid Beijing’s push for self-sufficiency. Both countries have planned discussions on AI in the coming weeks.

In Beijing’s readout of the talks with Trump, Xi acknowledged that “healthy” competition with the U.S. was possible, without confrontation. Hai Zhao, a director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-affiliated think tank, told the newsletter that the top priority for both leaders is to maintain domestic stability and prosperity. He said that if the two top economies are stable and growing, that is the best contribution to global stability and prosperity.

Both countries are seeing growth concentrated in tech-related sectors, also known as the “K-shaped” economy. AI’s development poses the same risks to jobs and national security, according to the newsletter.

The U.S. and Chinese readouts also signaled some alignment on limiting Iran’s nuclear weapon capabilities, and agreed that “no country or institution can be allowed to impose tolls on international waterways.” Zhao said that even though China and the U.S. may have different strategic goals in different regions, they share mutual interests from time to time, pointing to the need for stable trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. “In many ways they can working towards the same goal by not necessarily working with each other,” he said. “I call this passive cooperation.” Zhao also hopes U.S. and European scrutiny on China’s exports can be resolved by encouraging Chinese companies to invest.

While the U.S. and China have released more details on the Board of Trade, less is known about the Board of Investment. The question is whether it will get enough airtime in a packed political calendar. Trump faces midterm elections in early November. Xi will oversee a plenary meeting in late October aimed at unifying the ruling Communist Party of China. The two presidents are also planning to meet in Shenzhen in November and in Miami in December.

Larry Hu, Macquarie’s chief China economist, said in a report Sunday that after eight turbulent years spanning trade war 1.0 to trade war 2.0, signs of stability carry real weight for domestic audiences and entrepreneurs concerned about the external environment. He said the U.S.-China relationship also anchors much of China’s broader diplomacy with the rest of the world.

Separately, China’s industrial profits grew 4.2% in August from a year earlier, official data released Monday showed, a result the newsletter’s headline described as the weakest industrial profit growth this year. A private survey by U.S.-based research firm China Beige Book found a “surprise” jump in U.S. orders for Chinese goods in the weeks leading up to the Trump-Xi summit. Chinese AI models have rapidly gained traction in 2026, with their token usage surging on developer platforms OpenRouter and Vercel.

On the calendar, China is due to release official PMI and RatingDog China Manufacturing and Services PMI on Sept. 30. Hong Kong’s market is closed on Oct. 1 for a public holiday. Mainland stock exchanges are closed from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 for the National Day “Golden Week” holiday.