Talks pave the way for President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a possible deal this week.
Chinese and U.S. officials said they reached a preliminary consensus after two days of trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, paving the way for Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to consider a framework agreement later this week. But while Washington emphasizes progress on tariffs and rare earths, Beijing’s official account made no mention of the critical minerals that have become a flashpoint in recent trade tensions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the talks paved the way to cancel Trump’s planned 100% tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for China postponing for one year the implementation of its new rare-earth export licensing regime, the Financial Times reports, among others.
Rare Earth Supply China Increasingly Tight
China expanded its export license requirements earlier this month to cover five additional rare earth elements and a range of related processing technologies. China’s rare earth exports in September fell to their lowest level this year, further highlighting tightening supply chains.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng met with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for “frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges” on issues including Section 301 measures, the extension of tariff suspensions, fentanyl-related cooperation, agricultural trade, and export controls. The statement, however, did not refer to rare earths, tariff levels, or specific policy adjustments.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, where they could finalize the terms of the trade framework.
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