Trump and Xi agree AI safety hotline and $30 billion tariff cut as Washington summit wraps up

From the Newshound archive · first published 26 September 2026.

China and the US have agreed to open a dedicated communication channel for AI-related incidents and cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods, as Xi Jinping flies home from a three-day Washington summit. Both sides also signed a memorandum of understanding on military crisis communications, with a joint AI dialogue scheduled for November. Trump extended the trade truce by two months and described the meeting as one of "Friendship, Strength, and Success."

Under the summit's trade deals, China committed to buying a minimum of 10 million metric tons of US coal annually in both 2027 and 2028.

Trump and Xi confirmed they will meet again at two further international summits before the year is out, in China and the United States.

Two Chinese pandas are also set to arrive at a US zoo, amid what both sides described as a broader warming of relations between the rival superpowers.