The US and China kicked off high-stakes trade talks in Malaysia on Saturday that Washington described as “very constructive” ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to Asia for a summit with Xi Jinping.
Following weeks of mounting tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng held negotiations in Kuala Lumpur that will help shape the outcome of the summit on Thursday.
This month Beijing announced sweeping export controls on rare earths, prompting Trump to threaten an extra 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports from November 1 and raising the risk of a return to a full-blown trade war.