Trump: 'I think we’re going to have a deal with China'

US president expected to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping next week

US president Donald Trump at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

US president Donald Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with Chinese president Xi Jinping, whom he is expected to meet next week, after top economic officials from both countries reached a preliminary consensus in trade talks that concluded on Sunday.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Kuala Lumpur for a fifth round of in-person discussions since May.

"I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday," Mr Bessent told reporters.

Mr Bessent told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he anticipated the agreement would defer China's expanded export controls on rare earth minerals and magnets and avoid a new 100% US tariff on Chinese goods threatened by Trump.

He said Mr Trump and Mr Xi would discuss soybean and agricultural purchases from American farmers, more balanced trade and resolving the US fentanyl crisis, which was the basis of 20% US tariffs on Chinese goods.

Mr Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for the Asean summit, his first stop in a five-day Asia tour that is expected to culminate in a face-to-face with Mr Xi in South Korea on October 30.

After the talks, he struck a positive tone, saying: "I think we’re going to have a deal with China".

China's Mr Li said both sides had reached a "preliminary consensus" and will next go through their respective internal approval processes.

"The US position has been tough," Mr Li said. "We have experienced very intense consultations and engaged in constructive exchanges in exploring solutions and arrangements to address these concerns."

Both sides are looking to avert an escalation of their trade war after Mr 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.

Beijing and Washington rolled back most of their triple-digit tariffs on each other's goods under a trade truce, which is due to expire on November 10.

The US and Chinese officials said they discussed trade expansion, an extension of the truce, fentanyl, US port entrance fees, rare earths, TikTok, and more.

Mr Li described the discussions as "candid", while Mr Bessent said they were "very substantial negotiations".

Mr Bessent said the truce could be extended, pending the president's decision, marking a second extension since it was first signed in May.

While the White House has officially announced the highly anticipated Trump-Xi talks, Beijing has yet to confirm that the two leaders will meet.

On the sidelines of the Asean Summit, the US president hinted at possible meetings with Xi in China and the United States.

"We’ve agreed to meet. We’re going to meet them later in China, and we're going to meet in the US, in either Washington or at Mar-a-Lago,” he said.

Among Mr Trump's talking points with Xi are Chinese purchases of US soybeans, concerns around democratically-governed Taiwan which Beijing views as its own territory, and the release of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

The detention of the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily has become the most high-profile example of China's crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub.

Mr Trump also said that he would seek China's help in Washington's dealings with Russia, as Moscow's war in Ukraine approaches its fourth year.

Meanwhile Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had a positive meeting on Sunday with Mr Trump and their respective teams would start "immediately" to discuss tariffs and other matters.

The pair spoke on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur in a meeting to overcome tensionsafter Trump increased  tariffs on US imports of most Brazilian goods to 50% from 10% in early August.

"We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to advance the search for solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities," Mr Lula said in a message on X following the meeting.

Mr Trump had linked the tariff move to what he called a "witch hunt" against the South American country's former president Jair Bolsonaro. The US government also put sanctions on a number of Brazilian officials, including Brazil's supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial that led to Bolsonaro's conviction for attempting a coup.

Ahead of the meeting on Sunday though, Mr Trump said he could reach some agreements with Lula.

"I think we should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries," Mr Trump said.

Lula previously described the tariff hike as a "mistake", citing a $410bn (€350bn) trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years. 

Reuters