US and China agree on trade deal framework ahead of meeting with Trump

The U.S. and China have agreed on a framework for a potential trade deal that will be discussed when their respective leaders meet later this week, the U.S. Commerce Secretary said.

Scott Besant told the BBC’s US news partner CBS that this included a “final deal” on TikTok’s US operations and a moratorium on China’s tightened rare earth mineral controls.

If US President Donald Trump does not fear 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, China will resume buying substantial soybeans from the US, he added.

Both nations are trying to avoid further escalation in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks in South Korea on Thursday.

Besant met senior Chinese trade officials on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia, which Trump is attending as part of his Asia tour. Beijing said they held “constructive” talks.

Besant said the countries had “reached a concrete framework for the two leaders”, adding: “Tariffs will be avoided.”

Since Trump re-entered the White House, he has imposed and threatened broad tariffs on imports from abroad.

But the biggest tariffs he has threatened have been leveled at China, arguing that the policy would help boost US manufacturing and jobs.

Although it has agreed to stop imposing tariffs while pursuing a trade deal, Beijing has resisted measures of its own.

However, Trump has threatened to impose new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods from November if China does not lift strict restrictions on exports of rare earths – materials essential to the production of many electronics.

China processes about 90% of the world’s rare earths, which go into everything from solar panels to smartphones, making their supply to US manufacturers an important bargaining chip.

Besant told CBS This Week that China would “delay it for a year while they re-examine”.

Another point of contention is soybeans, of which China is the world’s largest buyer. As the trade war heats up, China stopped all ordersHurts US farmers.

Besant hinted that the boycott would end soon but declined to give details.

“I’m actually a soybean farmer, so I’ve felt this pain too… I think we’ve addressed farmers’ concerns,” he said.

“I believe that when the deal with China is announced publicly, our soybean farmers will feel really good about what’s going on this season and for years to come.”

Besant said a deal had been reached on the US arm of video-sharing platform TikTok, leaving Trump and Xi to “complete the deal on Thursday”.

The US has sought to prize the app’s US operations away from its Chinese parent ByteDance on national security grounds.

TikTok was previously told it would have to sell its US operations or risk being shut down, but Trump has delayed the ban four times to facilitate negotiations, extending it again until December.