China and the US appear to be stepping back from the brink of a renewed trade war, with plans for fresh negotiations in Malaysia materialising after days of heightened rhetoric over tariffs, multiple media outlets report.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed he expected to meet Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia this week to discuss a path forward after President Donald Trump admitted his threatened 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods was “not sustainable.”
Bessent also said he spoke with him via a video call last Friday evening, when the pair “engaged in frank and detailed discussions regarding trade between the United States and China.”
[See more: Trump threatens ban on Chinese cooking oil as trade tensions heat up]
The two countries’ current tariff truce, negotiated in July, is set to expire on 10 November. The latest tensions come after Beijing imposed new export restrictions on rare earth minerals critical to global technology manufacturing, prompting Trump to threaten sweeping new duties on Chinese imports from 1 November.
The World Trade Organization (WTO), meanwhile, has urged restraint – warning that a prolonged standoff between the world’s two largest economies could shave up to 7 percent off global output.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has described further escalations in trade tensions as a “serious risk” and that trade diversion was “fuelling protectionist sentiment elsewhere.” She also said she had spoken to officials from both China and the US to encourage dialogue.
