President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday.
This will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Trump’s return to office, and comes amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s top two economies.
APEC Meet Confirmed Among Other Visits
The meeting is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in South Korea from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
“On Thursday morning local time, President Trump will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Xi of the People’s Republic of China,” Leavitt said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will meet in Malaysia this week to prepare for the upcoming Trump–Xi summit.
Trump is also slated to meet South Korean President Lee Jae-myung during his visit to Seoul and attend a leaders’ working dinner. His Asia tour will include a stop in Malaysia for the ASEAN summit, and Japan, including a meeting with newly-appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Trump’s First Question For Xi
On Thursday, Trump said he will bring up "some big issues" to Xi, like "farmers", but the "first question" that he wants to ask Xi will be about fentanyl, referring to the American opioid crisis, which Washington blames on China’s failure to control exports of precursor chemicals.
Trump has been considering imposing sanctions on a wide range of software-powered exports to China, a move that could significantly impact the tech industry. This potential escalation of the trade conflict has added to the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming meeting.
The U.S. president has warned that he will impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting in November if Beijing does not ease its restrictions on rare earth exports.
China's Internal Strains Amid Trade Moves
Meanwhile, China is also facing internal challenges, with President Xi facing rare domestic turmoil amid the escalating trade tensions.
Furthermore, China’s recent policy shift to tighten rare earth exports could potentially backfire, analysts have warned.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
