US presses China to honour Busan trade commitments on rare earths and farm purchases

Washington presses Beijing to deliver

On Friday, 6 November 2026, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a videoconference with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing's lead negotiator on trade with Washington. The US side urged China to carry out its 2025 commitments fully and without delay, with a focus on agricultural purchases, rare earths and other critical minerals. The accord was struck in October 2025 in Busan, South Korea, when Trump and Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The Treasury said Bessent had raised concerns about recent Chinese actions without specifying them, and that continued progress depends on concrete results. Greer's office said the call covered the trade and economic relationship between Washington and Beijing. Bessent later wrote on X about the call:

“The Trump Administration will continue pursuing policies that benefit American workers, farmers, and businesses and strengthen our economic and national security.”

What the Busan accord contains

The deal capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20 percent, Deutsche Welle reported, and was reached during a period of tit-for-tat tariff increases. In return, China agreed to buy 25 million metric tons of US soybeans over three years and said it would keep rare earth exports flowing by suspending new export curbs. After a September meeting between Trump and Xi, the White House proposed $60bn in cuts, including $17bn of US farm goods. In May, the White House said Beijing had agreed to buy $17bn of US agricultural goods annually from 2026, on top of a soybean commitment made in October 2025.

Beijing's response

He Lifeng expressed "serious concern" about recent US trade restrictions aimed at China during Friday's call, Xinhua reported, though the report did not say which measures he meant. Beijing's position on farm purchases came earlier in the week. On Thursday, 5 November, the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Huang Ling said China was open to buying more US agricultural products only if both sides implemented the "30 billion for 30 billion" reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement. China has also rejected US claims that it is not meeting its rare earths commitments.

The rare earths dispute

Rare earths remain the sharpest point of friction. In September, US officials had judged that Beijing was honouring only two-thirds of its rare earths pledge from Busan. One person familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that supply had not increased since Bessent raised the issue directly with He in New York that month, ahead of Xi's Washington meeting with Trump. Experts cited by BFMTV named the pace of Chinese shipments of rare earth magnets as the main US grievance. Those magnets are used in cars, smartphones and the defence industry.

Upcoming meetings

Trump and Xi are anticipated in Shenzhen, where China is the APEC host, roughly two weeks after the call. The Financial Times reported that trade is not expected to take up much of that meeting, but that the issue is likely to be taken up in more depth at the G20 in Miami in December. Bessent and Greer are also expected to sit down in person with their Chinese counterparts at some point between the two summits.