On October 26, the Sino-US economic and trade team concluded a two-day consultation in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia . Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in previous phone calls this year, the two sides conducted candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges and consultations on important economic and trade issues of common concern such as the US Section 301 measures on China’s maritime logistics and shipbuilding industries, extension of the reciprocal tariff suspension period, fentanyl tariff and law enforcement cooperation, agricultural product trade, and export control , and reached a basic consensus on arrangements to resolve their respective concerns. Both parties agreed to further determine the specific details and implement their respective domestic approval procedures. The results of this meeting were positively evaluated by all parties. Chinese President Xi Jinping will go to Gyeongju, South Korea from October 30 to November 1 to attend the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) Leaders’ Informal Meeting and pay a state visit to South Korea. The United States also confirmed that US President Trump will visit South Korea. South Korea’s Dong-A Ilbo said that the world’s attention will be focused on whether the presidents of China and the United States will hold a meeting. South Korea’s Nueces News Agency stated that the Sino-US trade conflict has a major global impact, and whether the leaders of the two countries can meet has attracted much attention.
After the consultation is over, the next step will be to carry out internal approval procedures.
From October 25 to 26, the Chinese leader on China-U.S. economic and trade, Vice Premier He Lifeng, and the U.S. leaders, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Greer, held Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur.
He Lifeng said that the essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win. Both sides will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Maintaining the stable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples, and is also in line with the expectations of the international community. Regarding differences and frictions that arise in economic and trade cooperation, the two sides should find ways to properly resolve each other’s concerns through equal dialogue and consultation based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. The results of China-US economic and trade consultations are hard-won and need to be safeguarded by both parties.
The United States stated that the U.S.-China economic and trade relationship is the most influential bilateral relationship in the world, and the United States is willing to work with China to resolve differences, strengthen cooperation, and achieve common development through equal and respectful means.
Singapore’s ” Lianhe Zaobao ” stated that the Sino-US economic and trade teams held talks for five and a half hours on the 25th and continued on the morning of the 26th. After the talks, both sides held press conferences respectively.
After the talks on the 26th, Li Chenggang , the international trade negotiator and deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, said that the discussions between the two sides included many topics, such as export control issues that both sides are concerned about, the issue of further extension of the suspension period of reciprocal tariffs, issues of fentanyl tariffs and fentanyl anti-drug cooperation, further expansion of trade issues, issues related to US Section 301 ship charging measures, etc. China and the United States had constructive discussions on this. The United States expressed a tough position, and China was firm in safeguarding its interests. After more than a day of very intense discussions, China and the United States constructively discussed some options to properly address the concerns of both sides on the above-mentioned issues and formed a preliminary consensus. The next step will be to carry out internal approval procedures.
The United States positively evaluated the results of this consultation at the press conference. According to Reuters , U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on the 26th that Chinese and U.S. officials developed a “very successful framework” during the negotiations. “I think this framework is constructive and far-reaching, allowing us to continue to move forward and lay the foundation for the leaders of the two countries to hold meetings based on a very successful framework.”
Bloomberg reported that U.S. Trade Representative Greer said at a press conference that the Sino-U.S. trade negotiations were fruitful and covered a variety of issues. “We talked about extending the reciprocal tariff suspension period and also talked about rare earths .” The two sides are discussing the final details of a trade agreement proposal, which can almost be submitted to the leaders of the two countries for review.
On the 26th, U.S. President Trump told reporters during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur that he was confident that he could reach “a very comprehensive agreement” with China.
