Hopes for a breakthrough in the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China brightened on Sunday, with both sides indicating that progress had been made towards a deal to avert a new round of tariffs.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing had reached a “substantial framework” that could prevent the imposition of an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports. He made the remarks during a media interaction in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he is accompanying President Donald Trump on his weeklong Asia diplomacy tour.
“I think we’ve reached a substantial framework for the two leaders who will meet next Thursday… that tariffs will be averted,” Bessent told ABC News. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet later this week in South Korea on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
Chinese International Trade Representative Li Chenggang also confirmed that the two countries had achieved a “preliminary consensus” on key trade issues during their discussions in Malaysia, Chinese media reported.
While Bessent did not share details of the framework, he told NBC News that he anticipated the United States would receive “some kind of deferral” on China’s export controls related to rare-earth minerals — a critical area of contention in the trade dispute.
Bessent said the understanding reached in Kuala Lumpur “sets up Trump and Xi to have a very productive meeting,” adding, “I think it will be fantastic for US citizens, for US farmers, and for our country in general.”
He indicated that the possibility of new tariffs was now unlikely, describing the trade talks with Chinese counterparts as “very good.” “We had a very good two-day meeting. I would believe that the – so it would be an extra 100 per cent from where we are now, and I believe that that is effectively off the table,” he told CBS News.
Bessent also said the “threat of the 100 per cent has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime.”
According to a readout by Chinese state media, both sides reached a “basic consensus” on addressing their “respective concerns” after two days of “candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges and consultations.” The issues discussed included US penalties on China’s maritime logistics and shipbuilding sectors, reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl tariffs, agricultural trade, and export controls.
“Two sides reached a basic consensus on arrangements to address each other’s concerns. Both sides agreed to further finalise the specific details and fulfil their respective domestic approval processes,” the statement said.
The discussions in Malaysia were led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and included US officials such as Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Jameson Greer.
Bessent said the meetings had “set the stage for the leaders’ meeting” with “a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss.”
Trade and technology tensions between the world’s two largest economies have intensified in recent weeks, with Washington expanding its export blacklist to curb China’s access to American high-tech goods, while Beijing has tightened its own export controls on rare-earth minerals.
The latest progress comes just days before the Trump-Xi meeting, which many see as a critical opportunity to ease one of the most consequential economic rivalries in the world.
