China and US agree to set up trade and investment councils after Xi-Trump summit
China's Ministry of Commerce said Beijing and Washington have agreed to set up Trade and Investment Councils following the Xi-Trump summit. The two sides also accepted the principle of reciprocal tariff cuts. The deal creates a long-awaited institutional framework between the world's two largest economies.
According to the South China Morning Post, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that following the two-day Xi-Trump meeting in Beijing, the two countries have agreed to set up two separate institutional bodies: a Trade Council and an Investment Council. The ministry said the councils will serve as a forum for tariff cuts on specific products, without offering further detail.
The two sides also made progress on agricultural trade and civil aviation. Earlier reports that China would buy US aircraft are starting to take more concrete form within this framework. Taiwan, by contrast, was not mentioned in the statement; analysts say Beijing wants to handle that issue outside the institutional forums.
Markets greeted the agreement with cautious optimism. Export companies and aviation suppliers led trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Investors are now waiting for the councils' first meeting date and agenda, since the real impact of the commitments can only be measured once the first concrete tariff steps appear.
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