China's commerce ministry said trade negotiations between China and the United States this week were extensive, and helped establish a foundation for the resolution of each other's concerns, but gave no details on the issues at stake.
The negotiations, which lasted for three days, saw Washington and Beijing officials discuss "ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations."
"The spillover boost from continued optimism about US-China trade talks is buoying sentiment," Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist with Mizuho Bank, said in a note.
Meanwhile, minutes of the December 18-19 Fed policy meeting showed a range of policymaker urge patience on future rate hikes by the central bank, further boosting market sentiment.
Indonesian shares rose 0.9 percent, supported by the material and telecom sectors. Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk PT and Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk gained 6.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Philippine shares climbed 0.8 percent after government data showed trade deficit narrowed in November.
Index heavyweights SM Prime Holdings Inc and BDO Unibank Inc rose 1.8 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Singapore shares also closed higher, extending gains into a fifth session. DBS Group Holdings Ltd and United Overseas Bank Ltd advanced 0.8 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Thai shares were the only losers in Southeast Asia, dragged down by telecom and financial stocks.
The deviation was mainly due to profit-taking ahead of the earning results of banks in the next few weeks, said Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst with Phillip Securities Thailand.