American and Chinese flags are flown on U.S. President Donald Trump’s motorcade as he visits the National Archives with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C., September 25, 2026.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
Hello, my name is Anique Bao from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Washington after enjoying a state dinner and marching band, both countries are still figuring out what the extravaganza actually bought.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister once again threatened a “doomsday” war while offering an olive branch.
There’s a lot to digest for investors as markets enter a new trading week with U.S. Treasury yields at their highest since 2007 and oil prices rising due to the Iran standoff.
What you need to know today
The Chinese president’s state visit to Washington appears to have produced more personal diplomacy than a breakthrough.
The United States and China have agreed to lower tariffs on $30 billion worth of products and begin dialogue on AI. The tariff cuts will apply to U.S. exports such as agricultural products, lumber and cosmetics, as well as U.S. imports such as small appliances, toys and decorative items, according to a White House statement.
However, the deal appears to fall short of specific purchase commitments, and the two-month extension of the trade ceasefire appears to be subdued compared to analysts’ pre-summit expectations of at least six months.
“We didn’t reach a complete agreement on everything,” said Peter Alexander, managing director of Shanghai-based Z Ben Advisors. “At least for now, it’s a rocky relationship with neither side willing to make concessions.”
Regarding the Middle East conflict, the two leaders agreed that Iran should honor its promise not to develop nuclear weapons and that no country or entity should impose tolls on international waterways.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Iran is ready for “a final war” with the United States, but is still moving forward with diplomacy to “never miss a chance for peace.”
The remarks came days after Aragushi proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear negotiations within seven days if the United States accepted Iran’s terms. Since late February, the belligerent powers have been at war after war, capping off global oil supplies and accelerating inflation.
The conflict could potentially escalate into an incident on British soil. British police on Sunday arrested five men on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses after receiving information that three airfield-bound vans were spotted near a Royal Air Force base used in the US attack on Iran.
In the market, stock futures fell on Sunday night as U.S. Treasury yields rose to their highest level since 2007 following a strong week. Brent crude rose more than 1.9% to $106.31 a barrel and WTI rose 1.3% to $93.63 after President Trump rejected Iranian ceasefire terms.
As borrowing costs rise, the cost of financing the buildout of already historic AI infrastructure is becoming even more expensive.
Chip wall cracks
The Chinese government has indicated it may allow domestic companies including ByteDance and Alibaba to buy Nvidia’s RTX PRO 5500 chips, the Information reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is asking companies to report their plans to buy chips made for high-end professional computing. This is a small but notable thaw as the US and China begin to feel more common ground after last week’s summit.
After skipping Thursday’s state dinner hosted by President Trump for President Xi Jinping, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei will join Trump for a private dinner at the White House on Sunday, their first one-on-one meeting, CNBC has learned.
The state dinner was attended by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and other government officials from both countries. Sources said that due to conflicts with Amodei’s schedule, Trump offered to have a private audience in his place.
China is scheduled to release industrial profits for the first eight months of the year on Monday, as rising commodity input costs and weak domestic demand continue to weigh on manufacturing.
— Anique Bao
And finally…
Here’s why South Korea wants more control over future regional wars
At the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung used his meeting with US President Donald Trump to revisit one issue in the two countries’ military alliance: who would lead the coalition if war resumed on the Korean Peninsula.
During the 30-minute summit between the two countries, topics included strategic investment, shipbuilding, nuclear cooperation, and the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea.
The renewed focus on operational rights comes after President Trump abruptly scaled back the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise between the two countries last month, raising concerns about joint readiness.
— Lim Huijie
