China warns against ‘law of the jungle’ in trade ahead of Trump-Xi talks

US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. (Reuters)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday denounced “unilateralism” in global trade and warned that the world must not return to “the law of the jungle,” days before a high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Li said economic globalisation and multipolarity were “irreversible” and urged countries to reject protectionism, Hindustan Times reported.

“The world should not return to the law of the jungle where the strong bully the weak,” Li was quoted by AFP as saying — a remark seen as a veiled criticism of Washington’s tariff policies under the Trump administration.

The comments came a day after the US and China announced that they had reached an “initial consensus” on a possible trade deal. Washington also said that a proposed 100% tariff on Chinese goods was “off the table.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News on Sunday that Trump’s threat of imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports “has gone away.” The tariffs were initially floated in response to Beijing’s expanded export controls on rare earth materials vital to global industries such as electronics and defence.

“We had a very good two-day meeting. I believe 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.

According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, the “basic consensus” was reached after two days of talks between Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and the US delegation led by Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, held on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

Trump and Xi are expected to meet on Thursday in South Korea in an effort to finalise the agreement and end their prolonged trade dispute.