US and China begin trade talks in Malaysia to ease tensions

At stake is a trade truce that’s set to run out on Nov. 10 unless extended.

US and Chinese officials kicked off a new round of talks aimed at defusing a standoff between the world’s two largest economies before an upcoming leaders’ summit.

Chinese and US delegations began a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday morning, according the official Xinhua news agency. They’re led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, respectively.

Bessent and He, a longtime 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 on Thursday 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 broaden controls on rare-earth elements, raising the prospect of setting a sky-high tariff rate on Chinese goods and even canceling 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. 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.