China and the US have agreed to begin negotiations on a $30 billion reciprocal tariff-reduction agreement and artificial intelligence, under an eight-point agreement reached during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, according to a report by China’s state news agency Xinhua. The agreement was reached during the three-day visit. It was Xi’s first state visit to the US in 11 years and the first meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump this year since their summit in Beijing in May.

What matters were agreed upon between the two parties

The White House said in a statement late Friday that China and the United States had agreed to recommendations for a “more favorable” tariff regime for $30 billion worth of non-sensitive goods from both sides. The two sides also agreed on initiatives to expand agricultural market access and help stabilize global petroleum supplies.
On artificial intelligence, the two countries agreed to start a bilateral dialogue to discuss the risks and benefits of this technology, the next session of which is scheduled in November. Also, a separate communication channel will be created to handle AI related incidents.
Remaining points of agreement include supporting each other in hosting the upcoming APEC and G20 summits, reiterating commitments on Iran’s nuclear program and movement on international waterways, and progressing joint anti-narcotics operations, which have led to the arrest of dozens of people linked to psychoactive substances.
On the military front, the two sides agreed to a memorandum of understanding for emergency communications and control, and also agreed to continue efforts to repatriate the remains of missing US military personnel in China.
The White House said Xi and Trump discussed “promoting peace and prosperity” and agreed to build a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” based on respect, fairness and mutual cooperation.

Talks were going on since last year

Earlier, Xi arrived in Washington for a state visit with his wife Peng Liyuan. During the visit, Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan toured the National Archives Museum together, and the couple had tea in the Red Room of the White House. The $30 billion tariff agreement builds on negotiations that began at the Trump-Xi summit in Busan, South Korea, in October last year, where the two sides tried to reach a “basic consensus” in their trade talks. These talks continued at the Beijing summit in May this year, when Trump and Xi agreed to create a joint trade and investment board.