Top trade negotiators for the US and China said they came to terms on a range of contentious points, setting the table for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal and ease trade tensions that have rattled global markets. After two days of talks in Malaysia wrapped up Sunday, a Chinese official said the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on topics including export controls, fentanyl and shipping levies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods “is effectively off the table” and he expected the Asian nation to make “substantial” soybean purchases as well as offer a deferral on sweeping rare earth controls. Bessent spoke in separate interviews on NBC, CBS and ABC. The US wouldn’t change its export controls directed at China, he added. For more, we heard from Bloomberg’s China Correspondent Minmin Low. The Bank of Japan is widely expected to stand pat at this week’s policy meeting, but chances of a near-term rate hike are rising given the currency’s weakness, which risks pushing up domestic inflation further. For a preview, we heard from Takahide Kiuchi, Nomura Research Institute Executive Economist and Former BOJ Board Member. He spoke to Bloomberg’s Shery Ahn and Avril Hong. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung says Seoul and Washington remain stuck on “all” the major details of a $350 billion investment pledge. His comments come days before an expected meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Gyeongju. Lee sat down with Bloomberg’s Shery Ahn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
