Top Chinese and US economic officials have hashed out the framework of a trade deal for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to decide on that would pause steeper tariffs and rare earths export controls, US officials say.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur had eliminated the threat of Trump’s 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports starting on November 1.

Mr Bessent also said he expects China to delay implementation of its rare earth minerals and magnets licensing regime by a year while the policy is reconsidered.

Chinese officials were more circumspect about the talks and offered no details about the outcome of the meetings.

Mr Trump and Xi are due to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pa

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