Trump with Xi and Melania at a state dinner in Beijing. Photo: Thomas Peter / Pool via AP
China reportedly signed $253.4 billion worth of deals with American companies during President Trump's state visit, per AP. The big-ticket items include agreements with Boeing and Qualcomm.
Between the lines: "Such contract signings are a fixture of visits to Beijing by foreign leaders and are intended to defuse foreign complaints about China's trade surpluses and market barriers," AP reports. But often these deals are already in the books and won't subtract from the U.S.'s trade deficit with China, which was $347 billion last year.
The deals include...
- $83.7 billion in shale gas development projects
- $43 billion for another gas project with Alaska
- $37 billion for Boeing commercial jets
- $12 billion for cellphone chips from Qualcomm
- $11.7 billion for vehicles and parts from Ford and General Motors
- $1.6 billion worth of soybeans