Trump expected to meet Xi in South Korea amid easing trade tensions
U.S. President Donald Trump is still expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, signaling that both sides are seeking to calm tensions after a renewed tariff dispute.
Last week, China announced expanded export controls on rare earth materials, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese goods. The exchange briefly reignited fears of a full-blown trade war between the world’s two largest economies, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Bessent said the situation had “substantially de-escalated” and that “lines of communication have reopened.” He added that U.S. and Chinese officials would hold staff-level talks in Washington this week during the IMF and World Bank meetings.
“The 100% tariff does not have to happen,” Bessent noted. “The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good.”
China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed a working-level meeting took place Monday, following previous talks in London, Stockholm, and Madrid that led to a 90-day tariff truce. However, Beijing warned that “the U.S. cannot ask for talks while simultaneously threatening new restrictive measures.”
The Trump-Xi meeting is expected to occur on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by South Korea in late October.
Despite lingering tensions, markets reacted positively to signs of dialogue. Wall Street’s main indexes rose more than 2% on Monday, while Asian shares also rebounded, with Chinese shipping giant COSCO gaining over 2% in Shanghai after announcing a share buyback plan.
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