The chief economic policymakers of the United States and China engaged in last-minute agenda coordination just a day before the bilateral summit.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on his X (formerly Twitter) account yesterday, local time, that he held substantive discussions on US-China economic relations in Washington, D.C., ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Bessent explained that the discussions continued to focus on securing meaningful commitments that advance America's economic and national security interests while protecting American workers, farmers, and businesses.

This marks the second round of preliminary consultations between the two officials regarding the agenda for the upcoming summit, following their previous meeting in New York on the 20th.

Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the second round of talks took place at the World Bank headquarters, located a few blocks from the White House, where the two officials stayed for over an hour.

The outlet added that Li Chenggang, China's International Trade Representative, and Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance, attended the meeting alongside Vice Premier He.

Additionally, Reuters reported that following the meeting, Bessent told reporters that following their meeting in May, the upcoming summit on the 24th, and potential meetings at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Florida, US, in December, this could be a "historic year" with a total of four leaders' meetings.

Bessent stated, "On Sunday (the 20th), the Chinese side put forward ideas for a bigger deal," adding, "We are open to both ideas—either carrying forward the Busan agreement (which extended the trade war truce for a year) or exploring a bigger deal."

He emphasized, "Both are fine, and we will do what is best for the American people."

President Xi is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., late today, local time.

He is subsequently scheduled to hold talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

While the summit focuses on the stable management of US-China relations, some observers speculate that specific agreements regarding the extension of the trade truce and other issues may not be reached.

(Photo: Capture from Secretary Bessent's X account, Yonhap News)