US warns China not to break trade agreement

U.S. officials have called on Chinese counterparts to “fully and immediately” upheld the terms of a 2025 trade agreement between the countries.

Both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stressed “the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments” in a call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

They further highlighted their “concerns about recent Chinese actions,” in a statement released by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Bessent “underscored that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the United States will closely assess China’s implementation of the arrangement,” said the statement.

The agreement being talked about is one from an October 2025 meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The two countries agreed on China buying soybeans from the U.S. from 2026 through to 2028 – the deal came to ease tensions after they had hit each other with tariffs earlier in 2025.

Taking a step further in easing tensions, China stopped export controls on rare earths and issued general licenses for exports of the materials.

The “Busan” agreement was initially just for one year but the tariff ceasefire was extended by both sides through to January 10 2027 during Xi’s September visit to the White House.

The main tension between the superpowers revolves around rare earths exports from China which are heavily used in the production of smartphones, autos and military equipment.