Bessent says US, China agree on framework for trade deal
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The news: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he expects that China will not impose export controls on rare earths and that the US would not impose 100% tariffs on China, after “productive” trade talks with Chinese officials over the weekend.
The context: In separate interviews with NBC, CBS and ABC on Sunday, Bessent said that Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods “is effectively off the table” and he expected the Asian nation to make “substantial” soybean purchases as well as offer a deferral on sweeping rare earth controls.
“I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after two days of trade negotiations in the Kuala Lumpur.
Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang told reporters on Sunday that “the two sides have reached preliminary consensus” on possible solutions for trade issues that have upended relations between the two nations. “The US has been tough in conveying its position, whereas China has been firm in defending its own interests and rights,” said Li, a top aide to China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Bloomberg reports that the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on topics including export controls, fentanyl and shipping levies, citing a Chinese official.
Bessent also said that the two sides are set to finalise a deal on the future of TikTok: “We reached a final deal on TikTok. We reached one in Madrid, and I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”
The progress comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week and follows a raft of trade pacts the US inked with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia over the weekend.
