# Washington Tells Beijing to Meet Its Busan Trade Commitments on Rare Earths and Farm Goods "Immediately"

US officials say China has fulfilled about two-thirds of the 2025 accord, Beijing objects to new US restrictions, and some US tariff exemptions expire on November 10 ahead of a planned Xi-Trump meeting in Shenzhen.

- Published: 2026-11-07T05:12:31.983Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-11-07/washington-tells-beijing-to-meet-its-busan-trade-commitments
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/391bb785-0247-4c39-b53b-35007187d603?syn-25a6b1a6=1), [Deutsche Welle](https://www.dw.com/en/us-asks-china-to-uphold-busan-trade-deal-commitments/a-79882939), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-says-discussions-underway-on-xi-trump-putin-meeting/article71677194.ece)

The United States warned China that it must "immediately" meet the terms of the trade truce agreed in Busan in 2025, saying Beijing has not delivered the promised increase in supplies of rare earths and other critical products, [the Financial Times reported](https://www.ft.com/content/391bb785-0247-4c39-b53b-35007187d603?syn-25a6b1a6=1). Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made the demand on a video call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on November 6, [according to a summary of the call](https://investinglive.com/news/us-presses-china-to-honor-busan-trade-truce-as-rare-earth-shipments-fall-short/). Greer's office singled out agricultural purchases and critical minerals. US officials told the FT that China has met about two-thirds of its commitments. Beijing disputes that figure.

[Deutsche Welle reported](https://www.dw.com/en/us-asks-china-to-uphold-busan-trade-deal-commitments/a-79882939) that China, for its part, expressed concern over what it called US "economic, trade restrictive" measures. China's Commerce Ministry has said it is open to buying more US farm goods if Washington carries out the reciprocal tariff cuts. The complaint has a record behind it. In August, the ministry [announced countermeasures](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_33720309) against what it described as the US Federal Communications Commission's repeated expansion of "national security" restrictions after Busan, covering telecommunications, testing laboratories, drones, routers and undersea cables. Those countermeasures included tighter export controls on drones and drone components.

The deadline pressure is real. US tariff exemptions for some Chinese products expire on November 10, and [Washington has not said whether it will extend them](https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/11/05/china-rare-earth-export-pause-usar-mp-materials/). Diplomacy is moving in parallel. Beijing said discussions are under way on a meeting among Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen to meet Xi for the third time this year, [The Hindu reported](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-says-discussions-underway-on-xi-trump-putin-meeting/article71677194.ece). The broader truce is set to expire in January.

## What this means

China's leverage is processing capacity for rare earths and critical minerals that US defence, automotive and electronics supply chains cannot replace within a few years. Washington's leverage is tariff relief and access to US farm and technology markets. The midterm defeat weakens Trump's position at home, and Beijing has less reason to deliver early, because a president without Congress needs a summit result more than China does. The precedent is the 2020 Phase One deal, when China fell well short of its purchase targets and Washington chose not to collapse the agreement. The desk's read is that both sides extend specific deadlines piece by piece through the Shenzhen meeting, with China releasing rare-earth export licences in amounts calibrated to keep talks alive, over the next two months. That depends on Washington extending the November 10 exemptions. If the exemptions lapse and Beijing answers with new export controls, the truce breaks before January and this read is wrong.

## What to watch

- Whether the US extends the tariff exemptions that expire on November 10. A lapse would be the first concrete escalation since Busan.
- Monthly Chinese customs data on rare-earth exports to the United States. They are the only independent check on the two-thirds compliance figure.
- Confirmation of dates for a Shenzhen summit or a three-way meeting with Putin. Either would show whether trade and the Ukraine settlement are being negotiated together.