BEIJING — China’s commerce ministry on May 16 described the tariff, agricultural and aircraft agreements reached during US President Donald Trump’s visit this week as “preliminary,” saying detailed negotiations and follow-up work remain underway.
Trump departed Beijing on May 15 after two days of high‑profile talks with President Xi Jinping that featured ceremonial pageantry and conciliatory rhetoric but few concrete specifics on implementation. In a statement, the ministry said Beijing and Washington had agreed to set up an investment board and a trade board to negotiate reciprocal, product‑specific tariff reductions, alongside broader cuts covering unspecified goods including some agricultural products.
On agricultural market access, the ministry said both sides would address non‑tariff barriers and other technical obstacles. It listed several areas the US would pursue for China — automatic detention rules for dairy and aquatic products, export rules for bonsai in growing media, and recognition of Shandong province as free of avian influenza — and said China would push on US registration of beef facilities and poultry exports from certain states.
The ministry did not name companies or provide figures, timelines or values for any commitments. It also confirmed arrangements on Chinese purchases of US aircraft and US assurances on the supply of aircraft engines and parts, but gave no further detail and said discussions would be “finalised as soon as possible.”
The statement is Beijing’s first public assessment of outcomes from Trump’s visits to Beijing and Seoul this week and underscores that, while leaders announced broad intentions, negotiators still need to convert those intentions into binding, product‑by‑product accords.