Earlier, the top U.S. trade officials said they would also head to Malaysia to discuss Beijing’s curbs on exports of rare earths with Chinese officials.
Tension has roiled U.S.-China trade relations since Beijing dramatically expanded curbs on such exports this month in response to a U.S. hike in the number of firms barred from purchasing American technology.
Until then, ties had appeared to be thawing following a telephone call on September 19 between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
That had been preceded by a Madrid summit widely viewed as a success for a breakthrough deal on social media app TikTok.
But officials of the two nations are now scrambling to salvage a planned summit of their leaders in South Korea, which is just a week away, even while trading blame for the spike in tension.
REUTERS
