China and the United States will conduct a new round of trade talks next week to avoid another denting tit-for-tat tariff tussle between the world’s two biggest economies, as President Donald Trump called US tariffs on Chinese goods unsustainable.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that he was expecting to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia in the coming week.
What did Trump say?
On Friday, the US broadcaster Fox Business showed excerpts of an interview with Trump in which the American leader said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit slated to be held in South Korea in November.
Asked whether a 157% cumulative tariff rate on Chinese goods was sustainable, Trump defended his decision while seemingly acknowledging its likely effect on the US economy.
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is… They forced me to do that,” he said.
Last week, China expanded its export controls on the critical rare earths industry.
Beijing’s move prompted Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from the Asian economic giant in retaliation.
Earlier in the week, Bessent and Greer criticized China’s restrictions, calling the decision a threat to global supply chains.
China enjoys dominance over rare-earth elements which are crucial for tech manufacturing.
Trump has also threatened to levy new US export controls that would halt supplies of “any and all critical software.”
US, China tariff parley in Malaysia
Chinese state media Xinhua reported that Bessent and He had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” in a video call on Saturday morning. The report added that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade negotiation “as soon as possible.”
The call was also attended by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Xinhua said.
Bessent wrote on social media platform X that the call was “frank and detailed”, adding that the two senior officials would meet “in-person next week” to “continue” their discussions.
Over the last six months, the two have met in four European cities to chalk out a tariff truce that scaled down duties from a damaging triple-digit mark for each country.
The agreement is set to end on November 10.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
