The United States and China have reached a preliminary trade framework that could avert sweeping tariffs and resolve long-standing disputes over TikTok’s U.S. operations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced.

The deal, unveiled on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, lays the groundwork for final negotiations between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during their Thursday meeting in South Korea.

Bessent said the agreement includes a one-year deferral of China’s planned rare earth export restrictions, a resumption of large-scale Chinese soybean purchases from American farmers, and a resolution to the TikTok impasse—likely involving U.S. corporate oversight of the app’s algorithm and board. “The tariffs will be averted,” Bessent told CBS, confirming that the threatened 100% levy on Chinese goods will not be implemented.

A White House statement described the talks as “constructive,” with both sides pledging to “protect hard-won results.” The framework comes amid Trump’s first Asia tour since his reelection, aimed at resetting relations strained by the 2018 trade war, which the IMF estimates cost $300 billion in global output.

China, the U.S.’s largest trading partner with $575 billion in bilateral commerce last year, responded to past tariffs with countermeasures. But recent diplomatic progress—including a 2024 border pact—has opened the door to renewed cooperation. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry confirmed “basic consensus” had been reached and urged Washington to uphold its commitments.

Trump, speaking on Fox News after securing Malaysia trade exemptions, praised the deal: “We’re making deals that put America first—farmers win, tech wins, no more China games.” However, critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned of concessions favoring Big Tech, while Chinese analysts such as Ding Yi of Renmin University cautioned against overestimating the breakthrough. “It’s a truce, not a treaty—rare earths remain our leverage,” Ding said.

The TikTok agreement, delayed four times under Trump, would grant U.S. firms oversight to address national security concerns over ByteDance’s data practices. American soybean farmers, whose exports to China dropped 75% during the trade war, could see gains of up to $10 billion annually. Meanwhile, the rare earth reprieve buys time for U.S. supply chain diversification, with new sourcing deals in Thailand and Malaysia.