China says trade talks with US set for Friday in Malaysia
It sets the stage for expected Xi–Trump talks at the Apec summit in South Korea
[BEIJING] China said Vice-Premier He Lifeng plans to meet with US officials in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 24 to 27 for the next round of trade talks, aimed at defusing a standoff between the world’s two largest economies.
The meeting will take place in the Malaysian capital, the Commerce Ministry said in a Thursday (Oct 23) statement. He, Beijing’s top trade negotiator, held a call with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week ahead of the planned in-person summit.
Bessent and He, a long-time associate of President Xi Jinping, face the task of negotiating down new escalatory measures imposed by their countries against one another.
They are also setting the stage for expected talks later this month between Xi and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit in South Korea.
Earlier in October, Trump lashed out against Beijing’s vow to exert broad controls on rare-Earth elements, raising the prospect of setting a sky-high tariff rate on Chinese goods and even cancelling his first in-person meeting with Xi since he returned to the White House this year.
At stake is a trade truce that’s set to run out on Nov 10 unless extended.
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Months of tentative stability in the US-China relationship have been upended in recent weeks after Washington broadened some tech restrictions and proposed levies on Chinese ships entering US ports.
China responded with parallel moves and outlined tighter export controls on rare earths and other critical materials.
On Monday, the Ministry of Commerce convened an unusually large meeting in Beijing with foreign businesses, in an effort to reassure them that its latest export controls aren’t meant to restrict normal trade. BLOOMBERG
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