Vice-Premier He Lifeng is set to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer from today, as the world’s two largest economies try to ease an unexpected flare-up in tension ahead of a key leaders’ summit.
The commerce ministry said He, China’s top economic official, will visit Malaysia from Oct 24 to 27 for the Asean summit it is hosting.
Earlier, the top US trade officials said they would also head to Malaysia to discuss Beijing’s curbs on exports of rare earths with Chinese officials.
Tension has roiled United States-China trade relations since Beijing dramatically expanded curbs on such exports this month in response to a US hike in the number of firms barred from purchasing American technology.
Until then, relations had appeared to be thawing following a telephone call on Sept 19 between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
That had been preceded by a Madrid summit widely viewed as a success for a breakthrough deal on social media app TikTok.
But officials of the two nations are now scrambling to salvage a planned summit of their leaders in South Korea, which is just a week away.
Meanwhile, China’s vice-commerce minister Sheng Qiuping met senior Walmart executive Dan Bartlett on Oct 16, the commerce ministry said in a statement yesterday, and encouraged the US retail giant to expand its procurement in China. — Reuters
