US Treasury Secretary Bessent is to meet China’s Vice‑Premier He Lifeng in New York ahead of the Trump‑Xi summit, according to FT

US Treasury Secretary Bessent is to meet China’s Vice‑Premier He Lifeng in New York ahead of the Trump‑Xi summit, according to FT.

Pre-summit meetings between the US Treasury Secretary and China's lead trade negotiator follow a well-worn sequencing in US-China trade disputes: working-level and ministerial contact to define the agenda, narrow deliverables, and manage expectations before the principals meet. In past episodes of this kind, the substance agreed at this level has tended to set the ceiling for what the summit itself can announce, so the readout from this meeting matters more for the eventual outcome than the summit choreography. Bessent and He Lifeng have been the standing channel on tariffs, export controls, and purchase commitments in the current dispute, and prior rounds of their engagement have alternated between truce extensions and renewed escalation, a pattern markets have learned to fade in both directions until terms are published. The usual tells are whether the two sides issue a joint or separate readout, whether tariff pause deadlines are referenced, and whether rare earths or technology restrictions appear in the framing. Location and timing ahead of the leaders' meeting signal intent to have a negotiable package ready, which historically has raised the cost of a visibly empty summit for both sides. FX and tariff-sensitive sectors have tended to trade the headline rather than the detail until documentation emerges.