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US Treasury chief to meet China counterpart as tensions flare
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that he would likely meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng next week to prepare for high-stakes talks between the presidents of the world's two biggest economies.
The high-level meeting comes as trade tensions flare between Washington and Beijing over China's announcement of tighter export controls on the critical rare earths industry.
Washington has been working to rally allies to respond to Beijing's new curbs, with the Group of Seven finance ministers agreeing this week to coordinate their next moves.
The rare earth controls had sparked a fiery response from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose an additional 100-percent tariff on imports from China and to cancel expected talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.
But Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with Fox News, released Friday, that he would meet Xi after all at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Bessent told reporters at the White House on Friday that he believed "things have de-escalated" between both countries.
He added that he would speak to China's He later on Friday before both of them "meet in Malaysia, probably a week from tomorrow, to prepare for the two presidents to meet."
Bessent previously accused China of seeking to hurt the world economy after Beijing announced its new rare earth controls.
- Coordinated response -
For now, G7 finance ministers have agreed to coordinate their short-term response to China's export rules, and diversify suppliers, the EU's economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.
Speaking after the grouping met this week, Dombrovskis noted the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning that diversification could take years.
"We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach," he said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's fall meetings.
Countries would also exchange information on their contacts with Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions, he added.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists he hopes Trump and Xi's meeting can help to resolve much of the US-China trade conflict.
"We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China's approach," he added, referring to the group of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
Trade tensions between the United States and China have reignited this year as Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on US imports and both countries engaged in tit-for-tat retaliation.
At one point, tariffs on both sides escalated to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade as businesses waited for a resolution.
The two countries have since lowered their respective tariff levels but their truce remains shaky.
S. Sokolow--BTZ
