Trump confident of deal after "successful" US-China talks in Malaysia

By Xinghui Kok

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with President Xi Jinping, whom he is expected to meet next week, after top economic officials from both countries concluded two days of discussions on Sunday to de-escalate a trade war.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur for a fifth round of in-person discussions since May.

"I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday," Bessent told reporters.

Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, his first stop in a five-day Asia tour that is expected to culminate in a face-to-face with Xi in South Korea on October 30.

After the talks, he struck a positive tone, saying: "I think we’re going to have a deal with China".

The U.S. president also hinted at possible meetings with Xi in China and the United States.

"We’ve agreed to meet. We’re going to meet them later in China, and we're going to meet in the U.S., in either Washington or at Mar-a-Lago,” he said.

TRADE TRUCE

Both sides are looking to avert an escalation of their trade war after Trump threatened new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and other trade curbs starting on November 1, in retaliation for China's vastly expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.

Beijing and Washington rolled back most of their triple-digit tariffs on each other's goods under a trade truce, which is due to expire on November 10.

Bessent said the truce could be extended, pending the president's decision, marking a second extension since it was first signed in May.

Bessent said they had "very substantial negotiations" and discussed trade, rare earths, fentanyl, TikTok and the overall relationship between the two countries.

TALKING POINTS

While the White House has officially announced the highly anticipated Trump-Xi talks, Beijing has yet to confirm that the two leaders will meet.

Among Trump's talking points with Xi are Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, concerns around democratically-governed Taiwan which Beijing views as its own territory, and the release of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

The detention of the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily has become the most high-profile example of China's crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub.