Trump and Xi Extend Trade Truce Until January 10

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping extended a trade truce until January 10 following a summit in Washington. The extension provides no tariff cuts, no semiconductor agreements, and no firm commitments regarding rare earth exports. U.S. officials noted that Chinese rare earth deliveries continue to fall short of previous promises made at Busan.

The meeting occurred as the U.S. struggles to reduce its reliance on Chinese critical minerals. While the U.S. has tripled output of common rare earths, it meets only 42% of its demand and lacks capacity for heavy rare earths used in military applications. Prior to the summit, the U.S. Department of Energy and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry met to address supply chain bottlenecks for yttrium, which China restricted in retaliation for 2025 U.S. tariffs.

To secure strategic assets, the U.S. Department of War chartered the Economic Defense Unit, while the Export-Import Bank is financing a $10 billion stockpile known as Project Vault. Washington has further pressured China by capturing Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, disrupting a significant portion of China's discounted crude oil imports. Despite China's lead in AI and high-tech exports, internal economic instability and falling retail sales may have provided Trump with leverage during negotiations. The two leaders plan additional summits in Shenzhen and Miami before the end of the year.