Trump says U.S., China close to trade deal ahead of Xi talks, TikTok decision
US President Donald Trump looks over at people waving Malaysian national flags before boarding Air Force One from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on October 27, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington and Beijing were ready to reach a trade deal ahead of his expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Speaking aboard Air Force One en route from Malaysia to Japan, Trump added that he could sign a final agreement on TikTok on Thursday.
“I have great respect for President Xi, and we will abandon the agreement,” Trump said.
He began his whirlwind week-long trip to Asia on Sunday with a series of trade deals and a peace deal aimed at strengthening his position before meeting Xi.
Trump signs signature during first visit to Malaysia separate trade and mining agreements It concerns the frameworks of trade agreements with their Malaysian and Cambodian counterparts and with Thailand and Vietnam.
The four countries, part of an 11-member regional bloc called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have pledged to remove trade barriers, provide preferential market access for U.S. goods and increase purchases of American agricultural, energy products and aircraft.
They also agreed to cooperate with Washington on export controls, sanctions and access to critical minerals; These commitments appear to strengthen Trump’s position in a region where Beijing has growing influence.
Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the agreements focus on “cooperation rather than rigid commitments” and are “considerably shorter” on many key points than previous U.S. trade agreements.
“The United States could impose tariffs or terminate the agreement if it believes Malaysia is violating its commitments,” Cutler added.
Trump is expected to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the emperor in Japan before flying to South Korea. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who also flew to Malaysia for the 28th China-ASEAN Summit, stopped by Singapore and witnessed the signing of eight agreements there. trade and digital economy.
Insufficient details
While diplomatic momentum appears strong, few details have been released about the scope of the new trade frameworks.
According to the agreements, Washington Maintain 19% tariff rate According to the joint statement made by the White House, most of the exports are from Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand, while no tax will be applied to some products.
Tariffs to Vietnam will remain at 20%, with some goods eligible for duty-free access. joint statement. Vietnam, which recorded a $123 billion trade surplus with the United States last year, has also vowed to increase purchases of American products to resolve the trade imbalance.
Malaysia agreed not to impose Bans or quotas on exports to the United States supply of critical minerals and accelerate the development of rare earth projects needed by American companies.
Country sitting on a hill estimated 16.1 million tons imposed a sanction on rare earth deposits nationwide moratorium on exports of unprocessed rare earth materials Since last year, we have been working to develop sub-industries and prevent resource exploitation.
Thailand to ease tariff barriers We impose sanctions on U.S. goods, accepting some American-made vehicles, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals and importing ethanol as fuel. He also promised to loosen foreign ownership restrictions on U.S. investors in the telecommunications industry.
MUFG Bank economist Michael Wan said the agreements leave open the possibility of additional product exemptions to be agreed upon later. Industry tariffs on pharmaceuticals and electronics will remain key, he said, and questions about the legality of Trump’s use of emergency powers legislation to impose them will also be important.
peace agreement
Along with the trade deals, Trump announced the formalization of an extended ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, building on a ceasefire he brokered in July following violent border clashes this summer.
Trump, who sees himself as a global peace broker, said the agreement shows his administration “did something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done, and we saved maybe millions of lives.”
“My administration immediately began working to prevent the conflict from escalating,” Trump said. “Everyone was surprised how quickly we got this done.”
Trump-Xi Seoul meeting
While Trump met with other leaders in Malaysia, US and Chinese negotiators met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit; Bilateral talks here created a framework ahead of the expected meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea on Thursday.
“Markets are becoming increasingly accustomed to the ‘strike first, negotiate later’ tariff offering,” said John Woods, chief investment officer at Lombard Odier.
Li Chenggang, China’s chief trade negotiator sunday said It said a preliminary consensus had been reached after “very intense discussions” on a number of issues, including export controls, fentanyl and shipping fees.
The next step, he said, is for both parties to complete local approval procedures.
Inside Interview with CBS On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs was “effectively off the table” after a “very good two-day meeting” with Chinese officials.
Speaking separately to ABC News’ “This Week,” Bessent said the talks have produced “an important framework” that could ease concerns among American soybean farmers about a Chinese boycott.
China buys more than half of U.S. soybeans in 2023 and 2024; this amounted to approximately $12.8 billion in 2024. But Beijing halted the purchases earlier this year after Trump launched a trade war.
Bessent also told ABC News that he expects China to delay rare earth export controls by a year that will take effect in the coming weeks. Bessent added that Trump and Xi could “complete” a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.
“We believe both sides will likely compromise again after testing the other’s limits,” said Ting Lu, China economist at Nomura, predicting that additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods “will definitely not be implemented” and that both sides will extend the current tariff truce.
In return, Beijing could continue purchases of U.S. soybeans and ease the implementation of rare earth export controls, Lu added.
