- ‘China, US teams have in-depth, candid discussion,’ says Chinese international trade representative Li Chenggang
ISTANBUL
The US and Chinese officials have reached a “very substantial” framework for the upcoming leaders’ summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday after two days of talks in Malaysia.
Bessent told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the two sides discussed agricultural purchases, TikTok, fentanyl, trade, rare earths and the overall bilateral relationship, according to Bloomberg.
He said that the talks were “constructive, far-reaching and in-depth, and gave us the ability to move forward to set the stage for the leaders' meeting in a very positive framework.”
“I’m also anticipating that we will get some kind of a deferral on the rare earth export controls that the Chinese had discussed,” Bessent told NBC News.
“President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100% tariffs, and I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things with the Chinese,” Bessent said.
Separately, Chinese international trade representative Li Chenggang said on Sunday that “China, US teams have in-depth, candid discussions on topics of mutual interest,” according to CGTN.
Li said that the two sides talked about tariffs, export controls, and fentanyl, an issue Trump has pushed for tough measures in relation to trafficking. They also discussed ways to address ongoing trade issues and agreed to improve communication.
“The two sides have reached a preliminary consensus on these issues,” Li added.
Top officials from China and the US reconvened Sunday for a second day of trade talks in Malaysia, as President Donald Trump began a three-nation Asia tour, during which he will meet President Xi Jinping.
The latest rounds of the talks between the world’s top two economies began Saturday on the eve of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which opened Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.
The Chinese delegation is led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, and the US team is headed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
This is the fifth between the two sides. The top negotiators previously held talks in Geneva, London, Stockholm and Madrid.
Earlier, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the two sides were “getting to a point where we have something we can present to the leaders for their consideration.”
In August, the US and China agreed to a truce in tariffs until Nov. 10 -- the third time since Trump raised tariffs to 145% before reducing them. China had raised its tariffs on US goods up to 125%.
“We talked about extending the truce, we talked about rare earths, of course, we talked about all kinds of topics. And I think that we're getting to a spot where the leaders will have a very productive meeting this coming week,” said Greer, according to a video of his comments.
The two sides met for more than five hours on Saturday.
Trump meets Xi in South Korea
Trump arrived in Kuala Lumpur as ASEAN began its 47th summit, becoming the third US president to visit the Southeast Asian nation. The first trip by an American president was in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson.
He was received by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim before the two drove to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre for meetings between the US and Malaysia, as well as the summit.
Trump, alongside Anwar, will also witness the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, which saw deadly border clashes in July.
Malaysia is hosting the ASEAN summit from Sunday to Tuesday.
The meeting between top Chinese and US trade negotiators comes ahead of Trump's meeting with Xi next week on Thursday in South Korea, where the leaders of the world's largest economies will attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Aboard Air Force One on the way to Malaysia, Trump told reporters that he and Xi have “a lot of things to discuss.”
“They have to make concessions. I guess we would, too. We’re at 157% tariff for them. I don’t think that’s sustainable for them, and they want to get that down, and we want certain things from them,” he said, on his way to Asia.
On a tariff deal with South Korea, Trump said "it is pretty close to be finalized," Bloomberg News reported.
