China, US reach ‘framework consensus’ on trade –state media
BEIJING, China – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that trade negotiators from the two countries had reached a “framework consensus”, Beijing’s state media said.
“Through the Kuala Lumpur economic and trade talks, the two sides… reached a framework consensus on reciprocal solutions to current pressing economic and trade issues,” Wang told Rubio, according to a readout of their Monday call published by state broadcaster CCTV.
Negotiators have been working to hammer out the details of a deal on tariffs and other trade issues ahead of Thursday’s meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
READ: China, US agree to fresh trade talks
Asian stocks cheer breakthrough
Asian stock markets rallied Monday as investors cheered the breakthrough in US-China trade talks that set the stage for presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to perhaps finalize a deal, averting an escalation in the world’s biggest trade dispute.
Trump arrived in Japan Monday as part of a tour of Asia that could see the president and Xi end their bruising trade war.
Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
READ: Trump heads for Asia and Xi talks, as Kim speculation swirls
“I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think… come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord.
China’s vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.
The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office.
Chinese stock indices closed up more than 1 percent Monday.
Japan, Korea indices at record highs
Tokyo added 2.5 percent, closing above 50,000 points for the first time, buoyed mostly by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pro-stimulus stance.
Seoul, meanwhile, surpassed 4,000 points for the first time, with shares in tech titan Samsung gaining more than 3 percent and chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly 5 percent.
The positive sentiment followed a strong finish Friday on Wall Street, after benign US inflation data set the stage for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy owing to the ongoing government shutdown.
READ: Wall Street hits records following encouraging update on inflation
On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to hold borrowing costs steady for its third straight meeting, with eurozone inflation largely under control.
