Stacy Boit,

US President Donald Trump left Beijing after a two-day summit saying he had struck “fantastic trade deals, great for both countries”, but few details have emerged on what the two superpowers agreed.

Trump arrived for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday, accompanied by several CEOs: a high-profile business delegation spanning agriculture, aviation, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Trade was near the top of the agenda despite recent tensions over the Iran war, and businesses hoped for key deals as well as an extension of the tariff truce that is due to expire in November.

The visit was defined by warm rhetoric and symbolism. Trump was wooed with a packed itinerary that included an honour guard, a state banquet, and an invitation to the exclusive compound where China’s Communist Party leaders live and work.

The US President seemed impressed and invited Xi to the White House in September. He said talks had been “very successful”, while Xi called it a “historic and landmark” visit.

But neither side has announced trade breakthroughs or significant business deals.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that “China is going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars” with the business leaders who travelled to China but did not elaborate further.

He also said China had agreed to order 200 Boeing planes, its first purchase of US-made commercial jets in nearly a decade, though a smaller number than analysts had expected.

But Beijing stopped short of confirming any major purchases.

Asked about Trump’s comments, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun did not directly address them, saying instead that the “essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win co-operation”.

He added that both sides should work to implement the “important consensus” reached by the two leaders and bring greater stability to bilateral trade ties and the global economy.

The BBC has contacted Boeing for comment.

There are still questions over the trade truce agreed in October, when Washington suspended steep tariff increases on Chinese goods while Beijing eased back from restricting rare earth exports critical for manufacturing.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was with Trump in China, told Bloomberg TV on Friday that a decision was yet to be made on extending the truce beyond November.

The White House said both leaders agreed to establish a “Board of Trade” to manage the relationship without having to reopen tariff negotiations.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had been leading trade talks for Washington, said in a pre-recorded interview with CNBC that he expected progress on a mechanism to support future investment.

US officials have cautioned, however, that there is a lot of work to be done before these announcements can go into effect.