China confirms US trade talks in Malaysia as potential Xi-Trump summit looms

China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng will hold trade talks with US officials during a visit to Malaysia from Friday to Monday, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The two sides will “consult on important issues in China-US economic and trade relations” in keeping with the “consensus reached during multiple phone calls by the two nations’ leaders this year”, the ministry confirmed in a statement on its official website.

The coming negotiation will mark the fifth round of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies and serve as a prelude to an expected meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in South Korea.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on social media last week that he and the Chinese vice-premier “engaged in frank and detailed discussions” over a video call, adding that the two sides planned to meet in Malaysia.

Before the announcement, trade tensions between the countries had flared up this month amid a barrage of economic sanctions, export controls and a warning of 100 per cent tariff hikes from Trump, threatening to undo months of negotiations and multiple extensions of a temporary truce after the conflict peaked in April.

Notably, China announced a sweeping expansion of its export control regime for rare earth elements, an action Beijing characterised as retaliation against Washington’s widening of the coverage area for its Entity List, which levies hefty trade sanctions on named companies and individuals.