This time the China-U.S. confrontation in Kuala Lumpur, lasted five and a half hours, finally ended, our party on behalf of Li Chen Steel went to the meeting place, was shot to confidence, full of a smile, he summed up the fruit of this China-U.S. negotiation in two words, while the other side is the eyebrow closed American officials, this game lasted five and a half hours, is the strategic strength of the two countries.
As soon as we saw Mr. Li’s pace of rectification, we felt confident, and the mood of Mr. Besson was shaken again.On October 25-26 local time, the fifth round of China-U.S. economic and trade consultation was held in the Murdika 118 building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Just a week ago, Mr. Li, who was publicly accused and unjustified by Mr. Besson, also appeared on the negotiating venue.
After the tense confrontation, Li Chenggang used two sentences to summarize the results. The first sentence was that the United States expressed its position firmly and China was firm in safeguarding its interests. The second sentence is that after more than a day of very intense discussions, China and the United States constructively discussed some plans to properly handle the concerns of both sides on these issues and reached a preliminary consensus. After the talks, the Chinese representative left the venue with a smile on his face, in sharp contrast to the United States.
Judging from the information disclosed by China, China and the United States have discussed many issues, including export controls, further expansion of trade, fentanyl tariffs and fentanyl anti-drug cooperation issues that the United States has confused right and wrong, and further extension of the suspension period of reciprocal tariffs., as well as measures related to the US 301 ship charges. These issues span the most thorny issues in Sino-US economic and trade relations and are directly related to the core interests of the two economies. After intensive discussions, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on a plan to properly handle these concerns and agreed to implement their respective internal approval procedures to determine specific details.
These issues are both old problems in the Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations, and there are new developments under the new situation, especially in the context of the previous threat of the Trump administration to add 100% tariffs to China from November 1, the results of this meeting will have an important impact on the future direction of Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations.
A remarkable change in the talks was that the U.S. delegation was made up of staff. U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnik was unexpectedly absent from the meeting. Lutnik, as a representative of the strong hard party against China, previously introduced a widely controversial "50% rule", which stipulates that if more than half of the parts or technology in a product comes from China, it will face U.S. export controls.
Lutnick's absence may be related to the power adjustment within the Trump administration. There are signs that Trump is dissatisfied with the radical sanctions against China previously led by Lutnick, believing that these actions have undermined the atmosphere of Sino-US negotiations. This personnel change may further reflect the differences within the Trump administration on China policy.
Correspondingly, the members of the Chinese delegation have remained stable. It is particularly noteworthy that Li Chenggang's attendance has aroused widespread concern. A week ago, US Treasury Secretary Bescent publicly criticized Li Chenggang, calling him "Wolf Warrior". However, in this meeting, China still sent Li Chenggang to participate in the negotiations, while the United States did not reject this arrangement, which reflected the willingness of both sides to seek communication at a pragmatic level.
But in any case, the performance of the two sides at the negotiating table reflects the changes in the strength comparison between the two countries, the Chinese side in the process of trade friction, showed amazing resilience and strategic determination, since the outbreak of the trade war, China's exports to the United States have fallen to 10% of the total exports, but the total exports are rising.
Moreover, a series of countermeasures taken by China before the negotiations also further highlighted its strategic advantages, especially China's export controls on rare-earth objects, rare-earth technology, and rare-earth equipment, which directly hit the soft ribs of the U.S. military industry, semiconductor and high-end manufacturing.
The data showed that China's rare earth exports accounted for 70% of global supply, while the U.S. high-tech industry relied heavily on rare earth, which made China's counter-action a significant strategic effect. The U.S. paid a considerable price in the trade war, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a report stating that the related restrictions have caused its member companies a cumulative loss of more than $12 billion. Even Trump himself has admitted in an interview with the Fox Business Channel that high tariffs are "unsustainable."
It can be assured that the present Kuala Lumpur talks were not easy, but the preliminary consensus that was reached, also provided buffer space for the Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations, and the two sides agreed to suspend the US reciprocal tariff of 24% part and the Chinese countermeasures if the 90-day extension period is greater, which also created conditions for subsequent negotiations.
But again, the economic and trade friction between China and the United States is long-term and complex. Even if preliminary consensus was reached at this meeting, the differences between the two sides on deep-seated issues such as science and technology and industrial policies will still be difficult to completely resolve in the short term. In the future, Sino-US economic and trade relations may show a trend of "fighting while talking". While reaching limited cooperation in specific areas, each side maintains firm positions on issues of core interests.
Outside the negotiating table, the growth and decline of power continues. China's manufacturing output value has exceeded the total of G7 countries and has the most complete industrial system in the world. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced an extension of tariff exemptions on some China goods. The deep complementarity of the economies of the two countries determines that "fighting will lead to both injuries, and cooperation will lead to both benefits", which is still a basic reality. China has repeatedly emphasized that "the essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win results. If the two sides cooperate, both sides will benefit, and if they fight, both sides will benefit." This position has been widely recognized by the international community. I hope that the United States can also move towards China this time. If China and the United States can return to the zero-tariff track, they will surely set an example for world free trade.