US President Donald Trump said he is “getting very close to a deal” with China to extend the trade truce that has paused tit-for-tat tariff hikes and eased export restrictions on rare earth magnets and certain technologies.
“It’s not essential, but I think we’re going to make a good deal,” Trump told CNBC, adding that the US and China are “getting along very well.”
However, he downplayed the idea of an imminent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying he would only meet his counterpart as part of concluding trade talks.
“I’ll likely meet before the end of the year, if we make a deal,” Trump said. “If not, I’m not going to have a meeting. It’s a 19-hour flight — a long one — but at some point in the not too distant future, I will.”
The current preliminary deal between Washington and Beijing is set to expire on Aug. 12. The initial truce eased fears of a full-blown tariff war that could have disrupted trade between the world’s two largest economies and allowed more time to address unresolved issues, including tariffs linked to fentanyl trafficking.
Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Stockholm for the third round of trade negotiations in under three months.
While Chinese officials and the Communist Party’s official newspaper expressed satisfaction with the talks, the deal’s future remains uncertain. Bessent noted that any decision to extend the truce would ultimately rest with Trump.
