The United States and China have reached a trade‑deal framework ahead of the highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the agreement includes plans to halt a proposed 100 % tariff on Chinese goods that was set to take effect on November 1, marking a significant step forward in the ongoing negotiations between the two nations.
The framework was negotiated by Bessent, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. As part of the deal, Beijing agreed to postpone its export restrictions on rare‑earth minerals for one year, allowing talks to continue. The agreement also finalizes the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations and the resumption of Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, which had been suspended since September because of the tariff dispute.
Li confirmed that the United States and China have reached a “preliminary consensus” after “intense” negotiations, noting that internal approval is now required. The White House has scheduled the Trump‑Xi meeting for October 30 on the sidelines of the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea— the first face‑to‑face encounter between the two leaders since 2019.
The trade‑deal framework is seen as a major development ahead of the summit, where discussions are expected to cover trade, nuclear power and China’s purchases of Russian oil. Trump has expressed hopes of reaching agreements with Xi on these issues, while Beijing maintains its right to normal economic, trade and energy cooperation with all countries, including Russia. The United States has been pressuring China to halt imports of Russian oil, which Beijing has described as “a typical move of unilateralism, bullying, and economic coercion.” Since 2022, Russia has become a major oil supplier to both China and India, and President Vladimir Putin has warned Western nations against adopting a “colonial tone” toward the two countries. The outcome of the Trump‑Xi meeting is likely to have significant implications for global trade and economic relations.
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