U.S., China officials set for trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, eye Trump-Xi meeting next week
Top economic officials from the U.S. and China will face off in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to try to avert an escalation of their trade war and ensure that a meeting happens next week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The talks on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will seek to find a way forward 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.
The three officials on Saturday will try to pave the way for Trump and Xi to meet next Thursday at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, a high-stakes conversation that could revolve around some interim relief on tariffs, technology controls and Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans.
The Malaysian government and the U.S. and Chinese sides have provided very few details about the Kuala Lumpur meeting or any plans to brief the media about outcomes. The meeting’s venue was not confirmed until Chinese officials began arriving at the Merdeka 118 tower, the second-tallest building in the world.
Some of those announcements may fall to Trump, who is due to arrive in the Malaysian capital on Sunday.
