President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have chartered two new bilateral institutions—the U.S.-China Board of Trade and the U.S.-China Board of Investment—as the cornerstones of the economic agreement reached during Trump's second state visit to China.
Unlike the 20 countries with which the U.S. holds comprehensive free trade agreements, according to the U.S. Trade Representative, China has no such bilateral framework. That makes these new Boards the first formal government-to-government trade and investment mechanism between the two economies.
What the Boards Do
According to the White House, the Board of Trade will manage bilateral flows across non-sensitive goods, while the Board of Investment creates a government-to-government forum for resolving investment-related issues. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at the development, telling Bloomberg that the Board of Investment could enable Chinese companies to invest in non-sensitive U.S. industries while ensuring national security concerns are addressed.
On Saturday, China's Commerce Ministry separately said both sides reached a tentative agreement to lower tariffs and ease non-tariff barriers.
Boeing Orders, Farm Pledges
The institutional announcement came alongside major sector-level deals following the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. Breaking the procurement drought since 2017, China approved an initial purchase of 200 American-made aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA).
Beijing also pledged to buy at least $17 billion worth of U.S. farm products each year through 2028. It also restored access for U.S. beef by reinstating more than 400 approved facilities, and resumed imports of U.S. poultry from states certified by the United States Department of Agriculture as free of avian influenza.
Taiwan, Trade Skepticism Cloud the Broader Picture
Both presidents also discussed the Taiwan issue during the summit, where Trump signaled neutrality on Taiwan's security. Trump is expected to host Xi in Washington this fall. Taiwan is a longstanding flashpoint in U.S.-China bilateral relations.
The announcement of the Boards comes amid longstanding skepticism over bilateral fairness. Investor Kevin O'Leary earlier warned that American companies face uneven legal systems and intellectual property risks in China, while SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci argued China leveraged its 2001 World Trade Organization entry to build military and economic power largely on the back of U.S. trade deals made with limited strategic foresight.
