China announced Sunday it has reached a "basic consensus" on a potential trade deal with the United States, ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week.
The breakthrough came after two days of "candid, in-depth, and constructive" discussions held on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur.
The talks involved Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and a US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, as reported by Xinhua.
The discussions covered a wide range of issues, including tariffs, export controls, trade in agricultural products, and cooperation on fentanyl-related enforcement, CNN reported.
Following the negotiations, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News that President Trump's threat of imposing an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods "has gone away."
"I would expect that the threat of the 100% has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime," Bessent said.
This proposed 100% tariff was initially a response to Beijing's expanded export controls on rare earth materials. The tariff threats were set to take effect on November 1.
Both sides are reportedly now focused on preventing any further escalation in their trade tensions, which had intensified earlier this month.
Vice Premier Lifeng sid the "mutual benefit and win-win results" inherent in the economic relations between Beijing and Washington, adding that "both countries gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation."
The "consensus" reached by the trade delegations is intended to provide a "very successful framework" for Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal during their highly anticipated meeting in South Korea.
President Trump, who arrived in Malaysia for the ASEAN summit on Sunday, expressed optimism, telling reporters, "I think we're going to have a deal with China."
The two leaders are scheduled to meet on October 30 in South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This will be their first in-person meeting amid a period of intense trade conflict.
