US-China talks sketch out rare earths, tariff pause
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are laying out the framework for a trade deal that would pause higher tariffs and rare earth export controls, senior Chinese and U.S. economic officials said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the talks held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur eliminated Trump’s threat to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports as of November 1.
Bessent also said he expected China to delay implementation of its rare earth minerals and magnet licensing regime by a year while the policy is reviewed.
Chinese officials were more cautious about the talks and gave no details about the outcomes of the meetings.
Trump and Xi will meet and sign the terms on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Thursday.
Although the White House has officially announced the highly anticipated Trump-Xi talks, China has not yet confirmed that the two leaders will meet.
“I think we have a very successful framework that leaders can discuss on Thursday,” Bessent told reporters after his fifth round of face-to-face talks since May with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang.
Bessent said he anticipates the tariff truce with China will be extended beyond its Nov. 10 expiration date and that China will revive significant purchases of U.S. soybeans after buying no soybeans in September, while favoring soybeans from Brazil and Argentina.
Bessent told US broadcaster ABC that once the terms of the deal are announced, US soybean farmers “will feel very good about what’s going on both this season and over the next few years.”
Greer told Fox News that both sides agreed to halt some punitive actions and found “a way that we can get more access to rare earths from China, try to offset our trade deficit with sales from the United States.”
China’s Li Chenggang said the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus” and would go through their own internal approval processes from now on.
“The US’s stance was harsh, whereas China was determined to defend its interests and rights,” Li said through a translator.
“We have had very intensive consultations and constructive exchanges to explore solutions and regulations to address these concerns.”
Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, the first stop of his five-day Asian tour that is expected to culminate in a face-to-face meeting with Xi in South Korea on Thursday.
After the weekend talks, Trump struck a positive tone and said: “I think we’ll make a deal with China.”
Trump had threatened new 100 percent tariffs and other trade restrictions on Chinese goods starting November 1 in retaliation for China’s expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.
China controls more than 90 percent of the world’s supply of materials needed for high-tech manufacturing, from electric vehicles to semiconductors to missiles.
Export controls and Trump’s threat of retaliation could disrupt a fragile six-month-old truce under which China and the United States have cut tariffs on both sides that have soared to triple-digit rates.
Besides rare earths, U.S. and Chinese officials said they discussed trade expansion, the U.S. fentanyl crisis, U.S. port entry fees and the transfer of TikTok to U.S. ownership.
Bessent told NBC that the two sides should iron out the details of the TikTok deal, which would allow Trump and Xi to “complete the transaction” in South Korea.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, Trump hinted at possible meetings with Xi in China and the United States.
“We agreed to meet. We will meet them later in China, and in the United States we will meet either in Washington or Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said.
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