US, China reach framework for Trump-Xi meeting, says Bessent

The negotiations took place at the skyscraper Merdeka 118 as US President Donald Trump met with Southeast Asian leaders at a nearby convention center. Bloomberg

American and Chinese officials reached a “very successful” framework for the upcoming leaders’ summit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after two days of talks in Malaysia.

Bessent told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning that the two sides discussed agricultural purchases, TikTok, fentanyl, trade, rare earths and the overall bilateral relationship. He described the talks as “constructive, far-reaching and in-depth, and giving us the ability to move forward to set the stage for the leaders meeting in a very positive framework.”

The negotiations took place at the skyscraper Merdeka 118 as US President Donald Trump met with Southeast Asian leaders at a nearby convention center.

The Chinese delegation has yet to make any public remarks. Vice Premier He Lifeng led the Chinese side and was joined by Trade Representative Li Chenggang and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was part of the US team.

Trump landed in Malaysia on Sunday to begin his first tour of the region during his second term. He was greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the tarmac and oversaw the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia.

The US president is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings in Malaysia and later in Japan and South Korea, where he’s also anticipated to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said he hopes the talks with Xi would yield “a complete deal.”

The meeting would be the first face-to-face between the leaders of the two biggest economies since Trump returned to the White House in January. The two have spoken at least three times this year and Trump has said direct talks are the best way to resolve issues including tariffs, export curbs, agricultural purchases, fentanyl trafficking, geopolitical flashpoints such as Taiwan and the war in Ukraine.

“We’ll be talking about a lot of things. I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal,” he said.

Among potential agenda items is the US’s Taiwan policy. Xi has pushed for Washington to officially declare that it “opposes” independence for the self-ruled democracy, a concession that would amount to a major diplomatic win for Beijing. The longstanding US position is that it doesn’t support Taiwan’s independence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Saturday the Trump administration will not abandon long-standing US support for Taiwan in the negotiations.