Senior economic officials from Washington and Beijing met in Kuala Lumpur to preserve momentum for next week’s Trump–Xi summit. Both sides agreed to halt new tariffs worth $11 billion for 30 days and resume tech-transfer discussions to avoid a renewed trade war. Diplomats called the talks constructive, though sensitive issues such as semiconductor controls and intellectual-property access remain unresolved. Markets welcomed the pause as a sign of temporary de-escalation amid slowing global trade and rising supply-chain pressures.