China, US agree to reciprocal tariff cuts on $30B worth of goods

China and the US have agreed to reciprocally reduce tariffs on about $30 billion worth of imports from each other, with around 90% of the products covered to face most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff rates, China's Commerce Ministry confirmed Monday.

The agreement was among the outcomes of economic and trade consultations held by Chinese and US teams in New York and Washington from Sept. 20–23, the ministry, known as MOFCOM, said in a statement Monday.

The two sides will implement the tariff reductions simultaneously after completing procedures required under their respective domestic laws, it said.

China and the US also agreed to establish a bilateral trade council under their economic and trade consultation mechanism, with facilitating bilateral trade as its primary task.

Tariffs on US coal exports to China will be included in the reciprocal $30 billion tariff-reduction framework, which MOFCOM said would facilitate Chinese imports of US coal in 2027 and 2028.

The two countries also agreed to establish an investment council and an agricultural working group jointly led by MOFCOM and the Office of the US Trade Representative. The agricultural working group is expected to hold its first meeting before the end of 2026.

The ministry said the two sides also reached an agreement in principle on financial services and established an artificial intelligence dialogue led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The next AI dialogue is expected before the end of November, while the two sides also agreed to establish a communication channel for AI-related incidents.