As Trump arrived in Malaysia for the ASEAN summit, US and Chinese officials concluded talks leading to a “very substantial framework” to defuse escalating trade tensions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Amid renewed tensions on the trade front with Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday that Washington and Beijing have agreed on a “very substantial framework” designed to prevent the United States from imposing one hundred per cent tariffs on Chinese goods and to allow a deferral of China’s planned export controls on rare earth minerals.
The breakthrough followed two days of high-level trade talks in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpu ahead of a planned meeting next week between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In an interview with NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Bessent said that China was “ready to make a deal” after the negotiations. He confirmed that the new framework prepares the ground for a Trump–Xi meeting this week aimed at averting the sweeping tariffs President Trump has threatened to implement on 1 November if Beijing moves forward with restrictions on rare earth exports.
“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 said, emphasising the progress achieved during the talks.
China controls the vast majority of global production and processing of rare earth minerals—key components in electronics and defence technologies—and recent indications of export curbs have triggered concern within the Trump administration about potential supply chain risks.
“President Trump gave me tremendous negotiating leverage with the threat of the one hundred per cent tariffs, and I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other matters with the Chinese,” Bessent added.
President Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for the ASEAN summit, the first stop of a five-day Asia tour expected to culminate in a face-to-face meeting with Xi in South Korea on Thursday.
According to Bessent, Trump may also travel to Beijing early next year, ahead of the Lunar New Year on 17 February, with a follow-up meeting in Washington anticipated before Xi’s visit to the United States for the G20 summit next autumn.
Trump has signalled that fentanyl production and exports will be at the top of his agenda in talks with Xi, as Washington continues to accuse Beijing of failing to curb shipments of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of the deadly opioid.
Following the Kuala Lumpur discussions, China’s chief trade envoy Li Chenggang said the two nations had reached a preliminary consensus on extending their trade truce while addressing issues linked to fentanyl and export controls. Li and Vice Premier He Lifeng led the Chinese delegation, with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer representing Washington.
Striking an upbeat tone after the talks, President Trump said, “I think we’re going to have a deal with China,” hinting at further meetings with Xi in both China and the United States in the months ahead.
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