Kuala Lumpur / PNN/
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that the United States and China have agreed on the necessity of establishing military communication channels between the two countries in order to reduce disputes and prevent the escalation of any future issues.
He made the remarks following his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, in Malaysia, which came after U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Hegseth described the meeting as “highly positive,” stressing that military officials from both sides will continue to hold further meetings to develop these channels.
The previous day, Hegseth had sharply criticized China for increasing destabilizing activities in the South China Sea, affirming the United States’ commitment to support Southeast Asian countries with technology to enhance their combined ability to respond to Chinese threats.
During his meeting with defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur, Hegseth called for the formation of a shared maritime awareness, warning that China’s actions represent a violation of the territorial sovereignty of the member states.
He added: “We need to develop our joint response capabilities, including monitoring maritime behaviour and developing tools that allow rapid response, and ensuring that the party under aggression is not alone.”
Hegseth indicated that the United States distinguishes itself by its capacity for innovation and technological advancement, expressing his country’s keen interest in sharing these capabilities with its allies and partners.
His remarks followed a day after joint military exercises between the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines in the South China Sea — exercises that China regarded as seriously undermining peace and stability.
U.S.–China Trade Agreement to Ease Restrictions and Suspend Tariffs
The White House announced that China will suspend the implementation of additional export controls on rare‑earth elements and will end investigations targeting U.S. companies in the semiconductor supply chain.
In return, the United States decided to extend the exemptions under Section 301 of the tariffs, which were due to expire on 29 November 2025, until 10 November 2026.
In a statement, the White House explained that this step is part of the trade agreement concluded earlier in the week by President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with the aim of easing economic tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Under the agreement, China will issue general licences for the export of rare‑earth minerals and materials such as gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite to U.S. end‑users and their global suppliers — meaning the lifting of restrictions China had imposed in April 2025 and October 2022.
Furthermore, the United States and China previously announced that Beijing will suspend certain restrictive controls announced in October 2025 for one year, while Washington will suspend some of the reciprocal tariffs that Trump had imposed on China for another year. Additionally, plans to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States, which were threatened for November, will be deferred.
