On Sunday, October 26, 2025, the U.S.-China economic and trade teams concluded a two-day trade negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, reaching a preliminary consensus paving the way for the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea. President Trump expressed confidence in reaching a trade agreement at the Trump-Xi meeting.
The trade negotiations in Kuala Lumpur marked the fifth face-to-face meeting between the two sides since May. The U.S. delegation included Treasury Secretary Benson and Trade Representative Grier, while the Chinese side was represented by Vice Premier He Lifeng and senior trade negotiator Li Chenggang.
After the talks, Benson told reporters, “I believe we have provided a very successful framework for the discussions between the leaders of the two countries on Thursday (October 30).” The framework agreement will avoid the U.S. imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese goods, while China will delay implementing export controls on rare earth minerals.
Benson, in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” mentioned that after “two days of negotiations,” the Chinese side is ready to reach an agreement.
The two-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur between the U.S. and China economic and trade teams will enable President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss further trade cooperation when they meet next week.
He stated that Trump and Xi will discuss issues such as China’s purchases of soybeans and agricultural products from the U.S., promoting trade balance, and addressing the U.S. fentanyl crisis. The fentanyl crisis is the root cause of the U.S. imposing a 20% tariff on Chinese goods.
Chinese trade representative Li Chenggang said that the two sides have reached a “preliminary consensus,” and the next step will be entering their respective internal approval processes.
“The U.S. position has always been very tough,” he said. “We have had very intensive negotiations and had constructive exchanges to discuss solutions and arrangements to address these concerns.”
According to Bloomberg, a Chinese official stated that the two sides reached preliminary consensus on issues including export controls, fentanyl, and shipping taxes.
Following the conclusion of the U.S.-China trade talks, President Trump sounded optimistic. He said, “I believe we will reach an agreement with China.”
Benson, in an interview with CBS after the U.S.-China negotiations, stated that imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese goods is no longer under consideration. He expects China to “significantly” purchase U.S. soybeans and delay the comprehensive rare earth control implementation. He also added that the U.S. will not change its export control measures against China.
“As the threat of China immediately initiating a global rare earth export control mechanism has disappeared, I expect the threat of 100% tariffs to have also disappeared,” Benson said.
Benson also revealed in an interview with ABC News that he believes China will “postpone for a year” the implementation of rare earth restrictions while China will re-evaluate this measure.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary further disclosed that Trump and Xi will reach a broad agreement. This agreement will extend the U.S.-China tariff truce period, resolve the disagreements regarding the sale of TikTok, and maintain the supply of rare earth magnets, which are crucial for the production of advanced products from semiconductors to jet engines. He stated that the two leaders also plan to discuss a global peace plan, with Trump publicly expressing his hope to seek Xi’s assistance in resolving the conflict in Ukraine involving Russia.