Trade tensions between the United States and China appeared to cool on Sunday ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with the Chinese government suggesting that a mutual understanding had been reached between the world’s two largest economies.
U.S.-China trade tensions appeared to cool Sunday before an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with each side saying a deal was nearing between the world’s two largest economies.
Any agreement would be a relief to international markets even it does not address underlying issues involving manufacturing imbalances and access to state-of-the-art computer chips.
Beijing recently limited exports of rare earth elements that are needed for advanced technologies, and Trump responded by threatening additional tariffs on Chinese products. The prospect of a widening conflict risked weakening economic growth worldwide.
China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, told reporters that the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus,” while Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said there was “a very successful framework.”
Trump also expressed confidence that an agreement was at hand, saying the Chinese “want to make a deal and we want to make a deal.” The Republican president is set to meet with Xi on Thursday in South Korea, the final stop of his trip through Asia. Trump reiterated that he plans to visit China in the future and suggested that Xi could come to Washington or Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida.
Bessent told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the threat of additional higher tariffs on China was “effectively off the table.” In interviews on several American news shows, he said discussions with China yielded initial agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the U.S., and that Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earths.
The progress toward a potential agreement came during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Kuala Lumpur, with Trump seeking to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker.
