China extends trade truce with United States by two more months

China announced on Monday that it is extending its trade war truce with the United States by a further two months. The additional 24 percent tariff on American imports will remain suspended for two more months from Tuesday afternoon, though the 10 percent levy will continue, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said.

The truce was due to expire on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump are due to meet for the third time this year at next week's APEC leaders' summit in China. At a September summit in Washington, the two countries proposed a 60 billion dollar package of mutual tariff cuts, which has yet to be finalised.

China's commerce ministry also said export-control waivers for critical minerals and related technologies will be extended until January 10, 2027, while measures against 11 American firms on the unreliable entities list and 16 firms on the export-control list will remain suspended until the same date. The transport ministry said the suspension of special port fees on US-linked ships will also run to January 10, 2027.

The State Council said the extension is meant to implement the outcomes and consensus reached at the leaders' Washington meeting. China noted repeated US talk of using Section 301 tariffs in place of duties struck down by court rulings, and warned it would adjust its countermeasures as the situation develops. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in September that a two-month extension would give time to see what more can be done on the economic front.