SHENZHEN, CHINA – AUGUST 30: A man stands on the waterfront facing the container ship MSC and Ocean Network Express (ONE) under a gantry crane at Yantian Port on August 30, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
American businesses ramped up orders for Chinese goods in the weeks leading up to high-stakes summit this week, as the company is positioned for continued stability between the two largest economies in the world.
The jump in orders was a “surprise,” with shipments to the U.S. rising year-on-year and month-on-month “as China’s relative tariff position improves,” according to China Beige Book, a New York-based research firm that surveyed 1,295 Chinese companies between September 1-22.
Size orders from the US – calculated as the proportion of companies surveyed that reported an increase minus stocks that reported a decrease – jumped to 13 in September, from negative-12 a year earlier and 3 in August, according to the report.
Even so, China’s overall domestic and export orders remained below year-earlier levels, and new orders have weakened since August, the report showed.
The increase in existing orders in the US comes as businesses are positioned for a more friendly outcome to the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is in Washington this week for his first state visit in more than a decade.
The two countries agreed to extend for two months until January a trade truce that keeps tariffs lower, suspends controls limiting exports of rare earths and retains higher port fees on ships.
The U.S. is also reportedly planning to delay a round of tariffs that threaten to be tied to industrial overcapacity until at least after this week’s summit, easing short-term pressure on Chinese exporters.
The effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods of 23% remains higher than the average the U.S. imposes on other major trading partners, according to Barclays.
The export order figure was in line with new official data showing China’s ports recorded their busiest week on record during the peak, another sign that trade flows are recovering amid hopes for more fluid bilateral ties.
After the extension of the ceasefire, the Eurasian Group increased the probability of stability of bilateral relations to the highest level since Trump returned to office. A shorter-than-expected extension of the truce will also not lead to further tensions, the consulting firm said.
“Neither government has any interest in a new escalation,” said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, who expects both sides to press each other for short-term commitments to preserve fragile stability.
Washington will likely seek faster progress on China’s agreement on rare earth export licenses for US end users, as well as increased purchases of US agricultural goods, Wang said, and in return, Beijing will expect the White House to maintain its current pause on arms sales to Taiwan.
The two leaders will meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November, and possibly on the sidelines of the G20 summit hosted by the US in Miami in December. No bilateral meeting after this week’s summit has been confirmed.