U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington expects China to place a large Boeing aircraft order during President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing, as the two countries continue negotiations aimed at rebalancing trade ties and expanding bilateral cooperation.
Bessent said discussions between U.S. and Chinese officials would also include purchases of American energy and agricultural goods, alongside talks on artificial intelligence standards and investment frameworks.
His comments signaled further movement in trade negotiations after the two countries reached a fragile tariff truce in October.
Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said the United States and China were considering the creation of a “Board of Trade” to oversee bilateral commercial relations between the world’s two largest economies.
He also said officials discussed establishing a separate “Board of Investment” focused on screening Chinese investment proposals in non-sensitive sectors of the U.S. economy.
According to Bessent, the proposed framework would help ensure investments do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
He added that tariffs affecting around $30 billion in non-critical goods could also be reviewed under future discussions.
Bessent said soybeans were already covered under an existing agreement with China, while Beijing remained interested in purchasing additional U.S. energy supplies.
Bessent said the United States and China, which he described as the world’s two leading AI powers, would begin discussions on safeguards and best practices for artificial intelligence development.
“The two AI superpowers are going to start talking,” Bessent said during the interview.
He said the discussions would focus on preventing non-state actors from gaining access to advanced AI models.
Trump also spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and reiterated his desire to expand market access in China while addressing trade imbalances between the two countries.