Top economic officials from the United States and China reached a framework for a trade deal that U.S. officials hope will be finalized by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The framework, hashed out on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, is designed to achieve three key points are U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the agreement eliminates the threat of Trump’s 100% tariffs on Chinese imports that were set to begin on November 1. He anticipates the current tariff truce, set to expire on November 10, will be extended.
Delay Chinese rare earths controls: Bessent expects China to delay implementation of its new rare earth minerals and magnets licensing regime by a year. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated this would create "a path forward where we can have more access to rare earths from China."
Resume U.S. soybean purchases, the deal is expected to revive substantial Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, which had recently slowed in favor of South American supplies.
While U.S. officials were optimistic, Chinese officials were more reserved. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang confirmed they reached a "preliminary consensus" but noted the need to go through internal approval processes.
The leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday in South Korea, although China has not yet officially confirmed the Trump-Xi talks.
