US-China trade tensions appear to cool before upcoming Trump-Xi meeting

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia AP U S -China deal tensions appeared to cool Sunday before an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping with each side saying a deal was nearing between the world s two largest economies Any agreement would be a relief to international markets even it does not address underlying issues involving manufacturing imbalances and access to state-of-the-art computer chips Beijing of late limited exports of rare earth elements that are needed for advanced technologies and Trump responded by threatening additional tariffs on Chinese products The prospect of a widening conflict risked weakening economic upsurge worldwide China s top business negotiator Li Chenggang notified reporters that the two sides had reached a preliminary consensus while Trump s treasury secretary Scott Bessent disclosed there was a very prosperous framework Trump also expressed confidence that an agreement was at hand saying the Chinese want to make a deal and we want to make a deal The Republican president is set to meet with Xi on Thursday in South Korea the final stop of his trip through Asia Trump reiterated that he plans to visit China in the future and suggested that Xi could come to Washington or Mar-a-Lago Trump s private club in Florida Bessent recounted CBS Face the Nation that the threat of additional higher tariffs on China was effectively off the table In interviews on several American news shows he reported discussions with China yielded initial agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the U S and that Beijing would make substantial purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earths The progress toward a possible agreement came during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur with Trump seeking to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker Yet his way of pursuing deals has meant serious disruptions at home and abroad His import taxes have scrambled relationships with trading partners while a U S executive shutdown has him feuding with Democrats Trump attends ceasefire ceremony between Thailand and Cambodia At the summit Thailand and Cambodia signed an expanded ceasefire agreement during a ceremony attended by Trump His threats of economic pressure prodded the two nations to halt skirmishes along their disputed boundary earlier this year Thailand will release Cambodian prisoners and Cambodia will begin withdrawing heavy artillery as part of the first phase of the deal Regional observers will monitor the situation to ensure fighting doesn t restart We did something that a lot of people commented couldn t be done Trump declared Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called it a historic day and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul noted the agreement creates the building blocks for a lasting peace The president signed economic frameworks with Cambodia Thailand and Malaysia certain of them aimed at increasing agreement involving critical minerals The United States wants to rely less on China which has used limited on exports of key components in instrument manufacturing as a bargaining chip in arrangement talks It s very critical that we cooperate as willing partners with each other to ensure that we can have smooth supply chains secure supply chains for the quality of life for our people and assurance U S Agreement Representative Jamieson Greer revealed Trump reengages with a key region of the world Trump attended this summit only once during his first term and U S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed unfamiliar with ASEAN during his confirmation hearing in January This year s event was a chance for Trump to reengage with nations that have a combined trillion business activity and million people The United States is with you and we intend to be a strong partner and friend for countless generations to come Trump commented He described his counterparts as spectacular leaders and stated that everything you touch turns to gold Trump s tariff threats were credited with helping spur negotiations Thailand and Cambodia Certain of the worst modern fighting between the two countries took place over five days in July killing dozens and displacing hundreds of thousands of people The president threatened at the time to withhold pact agreements unless the fighting stopped A shaky truce has persisted since then Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised the agreement between Thailand and Cambodia saying at the summit that it reminds us that reconciliation is not concession but an act of courage Tariffs are in focus on Trump s trip Trump met Brazilian President Luiz In cio Lula da Silva in Kuala Lumpur who was also attending the summit There has been friction between them over Brazil s prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro the country s former president and a close Trump ally Bolsonaro was convicted last month of attempting to overturn voting results in his country During their meeting Trump commented he could reduce tariffs on Brazil that he enacted in a push for leniency for Bolsonaro I think we should be able to make specific good deals for both countries he announced While Trump was warming to Lula he avoided Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney The president is angry with Canada because of a television advertisement protesting his business policies and on his way to the summit publicized on social media he would raise tariffs on Canada because of it One leader absent from the summit was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Although he was close with Trump during Trump s first term the relationship has been more tense lately Trump caused irritation by boasting that he settled a latest conflict between India and Pakistan and he has increased tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Tokyo and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this analysis Source