Trump Leaves China Summit With No Major Trade Breakthroughs
Red carpets, top CEOs, and big promises — but few major deals. US President Donald Trump returned from Beijing after a closely watched summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that delivered limited progress on trade.
US-China Business Summit: Limited Progress but Ongoing Optimism
REPORTER:
Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and over a dozen CEOs from America’s top companies walked behind US President Donald Trump as China rolled out the red carpet.
The US-China summit put business leaders face-to-face for talks with senior officials. Both sides were focused heavily on trade and access to the Chinese market.
Li Qiang (CHINESE PREMIER):
The healthy development of China-US relations requires not only the two governments to move toward each other, but also a joint effort from all sectors of society. Everyone here today is an outstanding representative of the American business community.
REPORTER:
Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly told the American CEOs that the door to business in China will "open wider."
This message was welcomed by the CEOs, who say they want to deepen their operations in China despite ongoing trade tensions.
Cristiano Amon (CEO, QUALCOMM):
I'm looking [at the China-US relations] with a lot of optimism. I think the opportunities especially with technology. I think China has a vibrant economy and will continue to play a role in the supply chain, and especially, we see a lot of opportunities combining US technology with China's scale.
Jane Fraser (CEO, CITIGROUP):
I wouldn't be betting against the Chinese entrepreneurs and they're very successful. And we are looking forward to continuing to help support the deepening of the capital markets here in China, so that we can create more of the investment and continue the opportunity domestically.
REPORTER:
At the end of the summit, perhaps the most tangible win was a partial resumption of agricultural trade. China pledged renewed purchases of US soybeans and other farm goods.
Trump also praised a Boeing aircraft deal.
Donald Trump (US PRESIDENT):
A lot of great trade deals, including over 200 planes from Boeing with a promise of 750 planes, which will be by far the largest order ever if they do a good job with the 200, which I'm sure they will.
REPORTER:
But reports suggest the Boeing figure was far lower than earlier discussions.
And despite Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's last-minute addition to the trip, there was no breakthrough on exporting Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China.
China watchers say the outcome falls short of past summits.
Ryan Hass (DIRECTOR, CHINA CENTER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION):
When President Trump last traveled to Beijing in 2017, there were elaborate signing ceremonies. The two sides announced upwards of $250 billion in commercial deals. The outcomes this time around pale in comparison. There were no signing ceremonies. the Chinese did not confirm or announce any major new investments.
REPORTER:
The Trump–Xi summit produced modest trade progress and fell short of any breakthroughs.
While the meeting may provide businesses with some added stability, it remains to be seen if any major deals will come to fruition.
