US and China agree on trade framework ahead of leaders' meeting

By Xinghui Kok KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Top Chinese and U.S. economic officials agreed on the framework for a trade agreement on Sunday as U.S. President Donald Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in the coming days. U.S. 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% U.S. 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 U.S. fentanyl crisis, which was the basis of 20% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. China's Li said both sides had reached a "preliminary consensus" and will next go through their respective internal approval processes. "The U.S. 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." 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 October 30. After the talks, he struck a positive tone, saying: "I think we’re going to have a deal with China". 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 November 1, in retaliation for China's 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 November 10. The U.S. and Chinese officials said they discussed trade expansion, an extension of the truce, fentanyl, U.S. 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, Trump 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 U.S., in either Washington or at Mar-a-Lago,” he said.  Among Trump's talking points with Xi are Chinese purchases of U.S. 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 in Hong Kong. Trump also said that he would seek China's help in Washington's dealings with Russia, as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds on. FRAGILE TRUCE Tensions between the world's two largest economies flared in the past few weeks as a delicate trade truce, reached after a 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 has likely centred 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. (Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Writing by Mei Mei Chu, Yukun Zhang and John Mair; Editing by Tom Hogue and Ros Russell)

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