The Sino-US trade war has been waged for so many years. From 2018, when Trump was first elected, he began to increase tariffs, causing chaos to the global supply chain. When he came to power for his second term in 2025, another wave of threats came, this time targeting rare earths and soybeans. These key things. On the other hand, the talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia finally got some shape. The United States directly said that it would not consider imposing a 100% tariff, and China also agreed to postpone rare earth export controls for one year. It seems that China gained the upper hand, avoided further deterioration of trade and preserved its own interests.
Let's talk about the background first. This trade war will not happen in a day or two. In 2018, the United States began to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in China goods, and China in turn added tariffs on U.S. agricultural and industrial products. The first phase of the agreement was signed in 2020, suspending some tariffs, but implementation has been bumpy. After Trump came to power in 2025, pressure began again. In September, the United States introduced a series of restrictive measures against China, including adding a number of China entities to the export control list and implementing 301 measures against China's maritime logistics and shipbuilding industries. In April, China responded by imposing controls on rare earth exports, which are inseparable from the U.S. defense and technology industries. China accounts for 90% of global processing. The United States is in a hurry. Trump publicly stated on October 10 that if China does not stop exporting fentanyl related chemicals, it will impose a 100% tariff. The fentanyl issue is a domestic drug crisis in the United States, but they always want to dump the blame on China.
In fact, the U.S. manufacturing industry is seriously lost, they want to cut a piece from China's global manufacturing system, but the competition is only, with tariffs and regulating these soft knives. There is also a mess inside the Trump team, he criticized the business minister Lutnik's private action, ruined the supply of rare earth and soybeans orders, this negotiation excluded Lutnik. The U.S. delegate replaced the Treasury Minister Bessent, the head of the Ministry, the trade representative Grill followed. Since May, China and the U.S. have talked five rounds, from Switzerland to Geneva, London, Sweden to Stockholm, Spain to Madrid, to this time Kuala Lumpur, discussions are growing, including rare earth, soybeans, Finnish, marine logistics, manufacturing 301 measures
On October 25, the talks were officially launched. They were held on the margins of the ASEAN Summit with Basant and Greer of the United States, He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, and Li Chenggang, International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China. After two days of talks, the focus was on those hot issues. The United States is particularly concerned about the disruption of rare earth supply and lost soybean orders, while China has emphasized the global impact of the new US restrictions. The two sides conducted constructive discussions on some issues and reached a preliminary consensus. After the talks ended on October 26, Li Chenggang told the media that the United States has a tough stance and China is firm in safeguarding its interests. These 20 words are summed up quite accurately, showing that China has not made too much concessions.
The result is that the US agreed not to add 100% tariffs, but also to reduce 20% tariffs, extend the trade ceasefire period. China agreed to postpone rare-earth export control for a year and resume purchases of U.S. soybeans. The Fentanyl issue also reached a consensus, the U.S. used this as a pretext to add tariffs, but China in turn pointed out the problem of domestic legalization of marijuana in the U.S. Both sides also agreed to further determine details and fulfill domestic approval procedures.
In the morning of October 27, the People's Daily called out, saying that to jointly safeguard the difficult Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultation results, this is to remind the United States not to make mistakes again and avoid trade trouble again. The article highlighted a wide range of topics discussed between the two sides, helping to ease concerns, to the development of the two sides and the world economy to benefit. Both sides have not issued a joint statement, because the trust base is weak, each home to cancel the new control measures, trade can return to normal.
This round of trade war lasted for six months. The United States has never dared to fight a hot war and has engaged in tariffs, controls and sanctions. China has an advantage in the global trading system, and the United States has lost its manufacturing status. They are jealous but cannot win it. Trump gradually realized that confrontation with China would not be good, and this time the negotiators saw it. The United States made concessions to obtain orders for rare earths and soybeans from China, but China was not blocked by problems. It insisted on solving problems as the guide and continued dialogue on an equal footing. China's major victory this time lies in safeguarding its core interests, preventing the US's new tariff threat from succeeding, and promoting the stability of global supply chains.