The United States and China appear to have taken a tentative step toward easing months of trade tensions, as top economic officials from both sides reached a preliminary framework that could suspend planned tariffs and delay China’s export restrictions on rare earth minerals, the discussions took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of a high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for Thursday at the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea,

According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the framework agreement would prevent the U.S. from imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1, while Beijing is expected to delay its planned licensing regime for rare earth minerals and magnets by one year, Bessent described the outcome as “a successful framework” and expressed optimism that the two leaders would finalize the deal later this week, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang also participated in the talks, marking the fifth in-person round of........

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