China elevates Li Chenggang to lead US trade negotiations ahead of Trump-Xi summit

China just gave its chief trade negotiator a bigger business card. On September 20, 2026, Beijing elevated Li Chenggang’s title from the bureaucratic mouthful of “Ministry of Commerce International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister” to the far more streamlined “People’s Republic of China International Trade Representative.” The timing was not accidental. The announcement landed on the same day that senior officials from both countries sat down in New York for trade discussions, just four days before the Trump-Xi summit scheduled for September 24. By redesigning Li’s title to mirror that of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Beijing is ensuring that both sides sit at the table with equivalent standing. The bilateral trade relationship between the US and China runs at approximately $660 billion annually. Li’s elevation confirms him as China’s singular voice on international trade, cutting through the multi-ministry ambiguity that has sometimes complicated previous rounds of talks. The negotiator Beijing is betting on Li Chenggang, 58, originally from Anhui province, has been navigating the US-China economic corridor since his appointment in April 2025, when he succeeded Wang Sh...