China and the United States resume talks to ease trade tensions.

High-level officials from America and China held a breakthrough meeting in the capital Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on Saturday, aimed at easing escalating trade tensions and paving the way for a direct meeting between the two leaders next week.

Attending the discussion were U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while China was represented by Vice Premier He Lifeng ( and trade negotiator Li Chenggang ). The meeting was held at the Merdeka 118 tower — the second tallest building in the world, symbolizing Asia's aspiration to rise in the context of increasingly fierce global competition.

The context of escalating tensions

The discussion took place in a particularly sensitive context. Previously, President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese goods starting from November 1, after Beijing decided to tighten exports of magnets and rare earth minerals — strategic materials for many critical global industries.

Escalating tensions are threatening to break the temporary agreement that Bessent, Greer, and Hà Lập Phong have persistently nurtured over four rounds of negotiations since May. Washington has recently continued to heat up the trade front by expanding the blacklist, adding thousands of Chinese companies banned from purchasing products from America. In response, Beijing announced it would restrict exports of rare earths globally starting from October 10.

The host side of Malaysia along with the two delegations from Mỹ and China have kept the content of the exchanges confidential, and it remains unclear whether they will announce any specific results to the press.

Prepare for the high-level meeting

The goal of the officials is to pave the way for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chairman Xi Jinping, scheduled to take place next Thursday on the sidelines of the economic summit in Korea — where leaders of the Pacific region will gather.

The dialogue between the two leaders is expected to revolve around the possibility of temporarily suspending new tariffs, easing technology restrictions, and promoting China to resume imports of American soybeans.

Just before the negotiations in Kuala Lumpur began, Trump left Washington to start his trip to Asia. Speaking to the press before departure, he revealed some key topics that would be discussed with Xi Jinping, including “the impact on American farmers due to China stopping soybean purchases.”

The President of America also stated that the issue of Taiwan — the self-governing island that Beijing claims sovereignty over — will be mentioned in the meeting, but he affirmed that “there are no plans to visit Taiwan.”

Efforts to Prevent the Resurgence of Trade War

The two largest economies in the world are striving to prevent the trade war from escalating to a peak once again.

When Bessent and Greer first met with Chinese partners in Geneva last May, both sides reached a “90-day pause” agreement. This agreement allows America to reduce tariffs to about 55%, China to decrease them to 30%, while also restoring the flow of rare earth magnet supplies — a strategic material. Afterwards, both sides continued to extend the agreement in meetings in London and Stockholm, with an expiration date of November 10.

However, by the end of September, the situation began to fracture. The U.S. Department of Commerce expanded regulations, automatically placing on the blacklist any businesses with more than 50% of their shares owned by companies that had been previously banned. This move has blocked thousands of new Chinese businesses from accessing American goods.

In response, Beijing issued new regulations on October 10 to control the export of rare earths, aiming to prevent these materials from being used in the defense sector.

Mr. Bessent and Greer describe China's actions as “an effort to gain control over the global supply chain,” while asserting that America and its allies will not accept these limitations. According to some sources, the Trump administration is considering tightening exports to China further, including laptops and jet engines.

Washington continues to increase pressure on Friday as the U.S. Department of Commerce opens a new investigation to determine whether China has violated commitments in the “Phase One” trade agreement of 2020 — an agreement that helped end the trade war during Trump's first term.

SN_Nour