Trump eyes trade deal after US, China reach early consensus in 'successful' talks

Summary

• Trump optimistic of deal with China
• US Treasury Sec Bessent says extension of trade truce possible
• China's trade negotiator Li says reached preliminary consensus
• World's two largest economies seek to avert trade war escalation
• Talks explored trade, rare earths, fentanyl, TikTok

US President Donald Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he is expected to meet next week, after top economic officials from both countries reached a preliminary consensus in trade talks that concluded on Sunday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur for a fifth round of in-person discussions since May.

"I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday," Bessent told reporters.

Bessent told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he anticipated the agreement would defer China's expanded export controls on rare earth minerals and magnets and avoid a new 100% US tariff on Chinese goods threatened by Trump.

He said Trump and Xi would discuss soybean and agricultural purchases from American farmers, more balanced trade and resolving the US fentanyl crisis, which was the basis of 20% US tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, his first stop in a five-day Asia tour that is expected to culminate in a face-to-face with Xi in South Korea on 30 October.

After the talks, he struck a positive tone, saying: "I think we're going to have a deal with China".

China's Li said both sides had reached a "preliminary consensus" and will next go through their respective internal approval processes.

"The US position has been tough," Li said. "We have experienced very intense consultations and engaged in constructive exchanges in exploring solutions and arrangements to address these concerns."

Trade truce

Both sides are looking to avert an escalation of their trade war after Trump threatened new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and other trade curbs starting on 1 November, in retaliation for China's vastly expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.

Beijing and Washington rolled back most of their triple-digit tariffs on each other's goods under a trade truce, which is due to expire on 10 November.

The US and Chinese officials said they discussed trade expansion, an extension of the truce, fentanyl, US port entrance fees, rare earths, TikTok and more.

Li described the discussions as "candid", while Bessent said they were "very substantial negotiations".

Bessent said the truce could be extended, pending the president's decision, marking a second extension since it was first signed in May.

Talking points

While the White House has officially announced the highly anticipated Trump-Xi talks, Beijing has yet to confirm that the two leaders will meet.

On the sidelines of the Asean Summit, the US president hinted at possible meetings with Xi in China and the United States.

"We've agreed to meet. We're going to meet them later in China, and we're going to meet in the US, in either Washington or at Mar-a-Lago," he said.

Among Trump's talking points with Xi are Chinese purchases of US soybeans, concerns around democratically-governed Taiwan which Beijing views as its own territory, and the release of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

The detention of the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily has become the most high-profile example of China's crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub.

Trump also said that he would seek China's help in Washington's dealings with Russia, as Moscow's war in Ukraine approaches its fourth year.

Fragile truce

Tensions between the world's two largest economies flared in the past few weeks as a delicate trade truce, reached after their first round of trade talks in Geneva in May and extended in August, failed to prevent the two sides from hitting each other with more sanctions, export curbs and threats of stronger retaliatory measures.

The latest round of talks is likely to centre around China's expanded controls of rare earths exports that have caused a global shortage.

That has prompted the Trump administration to consider a block on software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, according to a Reuters report.

A day before the talks commenced, the US launched a new tariff investigation into China's "apparent failure" to comply with the "Phase One" trade deal signed in 2020.

The new unfair trade practices probe bolsters Trump's toolkit against China.

Any agreement from Sunday's talks is likely to be fragile as the world's most important trade relationship, worth $660 billion a year, hangs in the balance.

In a statement on state media Xinhua, Chinese Vice Premier He said he hopes the U.S. and China will meet each other halfway.