Chinese tariffs “are not sustainable” — Trump – DW – 10/18/2025

China and the United States will hold a new round of trade talks next week to avoid a new tariff battle between the world’s two largest economies, as President Donald Trump called U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods unsustainable.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday he plans to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia next week.

What did Trump say?

On Friday, US channel Fox Business aired excerpts of an interview with Trump in which the US leader said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea in November.

When asked whether a cumulative tariff rate of 157% on Chinese goods was viable, Trump defended his decision while apparently acknowledging its likely effect on the U.S. economy.

“It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number… They forced me to do this,” he said.

Last week, China expanded its export controls on the critical rare earths sector.

Beijing’s move prompted Trump to threaten to impose 100% tariffs on imports from the Asian economic giant in retaliation.

Earlier in the week, Bessent and Greer criticized China’s restrictions, calling the decision a threat to global supply chains.

China enjoys dominance over rare earth elements that are crucial for technological manufacturing.

Trump also threatened to impose new export controls on the United States, which would halt the supply of “all critical software.”

US-China tariff negotiations in Malaysia

Chinese state media Xinhua reported that Bessent and He had “frank, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a video call Saturday morning. The report added that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade negotiations “as soon as possible.”

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the call, Xinhua said.

Bessent wrote on the social network

Over the past six months, the two have met in four European cities to hammer out a tariff truce that would reduce each country’s damaging triple-digit tariffs.

The deal is set to end on November 10.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah