China, U.S. reach 'preliminary consensus'

China and the United States have reached "preliminary consensus" on key issues, including tariff suspension, trade in agricultural products and export controls, after two days of "constructive" trade talks in Malaysia over the weekend.

A statement released on Sunday following the conclusion of the fifth round of trade talks since May said that officials representing China and the U.S. held "frank, in-depth and constructive" exchanges on key trade issues of mutual concern.

China and the U.S. gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng said after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and Sunday.

He noted that when economic and trade frictions appear, both countries should uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to properly address each other's concerns through equal-footed dialogue and consultation.

The U.S. should work with China toward the same direction, to further build up trust, manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote bilateral economic and trade relations to a higher level, the vice-premier added.

The talks addressed various issues, including the U.S.' Section 301 measures targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, extension of the reciprocal tariff suspension, fentanyl-related tariffs and law enforcement cooperation, trade in agricultural products, and export controls, the statement said.

A preliminary consensus was reached about arrangements to address each other's concerns, with both sides agreeing to further work out the specifics and follow their respective domestic approval processes.

Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative at the Ministry of Commerce, told a news conference on Sunday that while the U.S. presented its position firmly, China remained resolute in safeguarding its interests.

Li said that China has strictly followed the consensus reached in multiple phone conversations between the two heads of state, earnestly implementing the outcomes of economic and trade consultations, and carefully safeguarding the "hard-won relative stability" in bilateral relations. "The recent fluctuations and disruptions are not what China wishes to see," he added.

The latest round of trade talks took place at a tense time when Washington's imposition of new restrictions prompted resolute countermeasures from Beijing, shattering months of relative calm.

The two countries had reached a trade truce in May, agreeing to roll back triple-digit tariffs, which was later extended to Nov 10.

However, at the end of September — mere weeks after the fourth round of trade negotiations in Spain yielded progress in stabilizing ties — the U.S. expanded its export controls on advanced technology to China. This was followed by imposition of additional port fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated ships earlier this month.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in retaliation for Beijing's tightened restrictions on rare earth exports for military applications, also vowed to impose 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese goods and export controls on "any and all critical software" effective next month.

Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of World Economics and Politics, said that consensus cannot last if the U.S. continues to weaken the trust it is built upon with its unilateral and protectionist actions.

It's crucial for the U.S. to work with China to take concrete actions and faithfully honor their commitments made during these talks, thereby creating conditions for further dialogue and cooperation that will benefit the two countries and the world at large, Gao added.

Observers are also closely watching to see whether the two economic heavyweights extend their "tariff truce", which is set to expire on Nov 10, while hoping to see broader cooperation between the two countries.

Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, told China Daily that he hoped that both sides would agree to further extend the tariff truce. Stein cautioned that it was better not to have high expectations from the China-U.S. dialogue in the short term. "It should set us up for a better, longer-term trade relationship," he added.

"The U.S. and China are the world's two largest economies, the world's two most technologically advanced economies, and the world's two most dynamic economies," he said, adding that "there are a lot of things that we need to get right on the economic front".

Former U.S. treasury secretary Robert E. Rubin said that the better way would be to have "an open trading system" between the U.S. and China, as well as involving the rest of the world. "Chinese people have a very strong history of technological innovation, and in time they'll get where they need to be," Rubin said on the sidelines of the 2025 Bund Summit in Shanghai earlier this week.

Rubin said that if the two countries can work together on artificial intelligence in an open trading system, the results would be "advantageous".

Despite the recent escalation in tensions between the two countries, many U.S. businesses remain optimistic about their future in the Chinese market. "The Chinese market remains our No 1 priority in the Asia-Pacific region," said Steven Sare, managing director for the Asia-Pacific of U.S. apparel and accessories retailer Abercrombie &Fitch.