Key facts
- Greer and Bessent urged He Lifeng to uphold China's commitments on agricultural goods and rare earth exports, Greer's office said.
- He Lifeng raised "serious concern" over recent US trade restrictions targeting China, Xinhua reported.
- The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation and manage differences, Xinhua said.
- Beijing had a day earlier called on Washington to implement reciprocal tariff cuts covering $30 billion of products on each side.
- Trump and Xi are expected to meet at the APEC forum in Shenzhen on November 18 to 19.
- China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing is in communication about a Xi-Trump-Putin meeting.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng to uphold China's previous commitments on agricultural goods and rare earth exports during a video call on Friday, November 6, 2026, according to a statement from Greer's office.
Greer "emphasized the critical importance of China taking concrete actions to fully implement its past commitments, particularly as they relate to agricultural purchases, rare earths, and other critical minerals," the statement said. Bessent wrote on X after the call that the administration would continue pursuing policies that benefit American workers, farmers and businesses and strengthen economic and national security.
A day earlier, Beijing reminded Washington to implement another deal, reciprocal tariff cuts covering $30 billion worth of products on each side, as a precondition to buying more American farm products. During the call, He, Beijing's lead negotiator on trade ties with the US, expressed "serious concern" over recent US trade restrictions targeting his country, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The report did not elaborate on which measure he was referring to.
Both parties agreed to "continuously strengthen cooperation" and "properly manage differences" to promote a "stable" US-China trade relationship, Xinhua said.
The call came days before President Donald Trump meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to meet at the APEC forum in Shenzhen, China, slated for November 18 to 19. In a separate development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing in Beijing that China is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state, confirming for the first time that a trilateral summit of Xi, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is under discussion on the sidelines of the APEC gathering.