 "US and China hold ‘very constructive’ trade talks ahead of high-stakes Trump–Xi meeting")
The United States and China held “very constructive” trade discussions in Malaysia on Saturday, a US Treasury spokesperson said, as President Donald Trump headed for Asia and high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, saying that he would also like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his trip.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng at Merdeka 118, the world’s second-tallest building, as both sides sought to prevent further escalation of the ongoing tariff conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump is scheduled to meet Xi in South Korea next Thursday and indicated that he would also like to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip.
Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his regional swing in a bid to seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
He will also visit Malaysia and Japan on his first trip to Asia since he returned to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international dealmaking.
The US president has made it clear he hopes to seal a “good” deal with China and end the trade war, even though he previously threatened to cancel the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, starting October 31.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBeijing announced this month sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.
The two countries also began charging arrival fees on each other’s ships, sparked by a US “Section 301” investigation that found Beijing’s dominance in the industry was unreasonable.
Global markets will be watching closely to see if they can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare-earth curbs.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced the fresh 100 percent tariffs during that row, before saying he would go ahead after all.
He said he would also discuss fentanyl with Xi, as he raises pressure on Beijing to curb trafficking of the powerful opioid and cracks down on Latin American drug cartels.
With inputs from agencies
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