Trump, Xi to Meet Oct. 30 at APEC Summit, White House Says
Tariffs, Export Curbs, Agricultural Purchases, Fentanyl Trafficking, More Expected to Take Center Stage
Key Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Oct. 30 in South Korea during the APEC summit, the White House announced Oct. 23.
- The meeting aims to ease rising trade tensions as a U.S.-China tariff truce nears its Nov. 10 expiration and both nations escalate export and import restrictions.
- Trump has threatened new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods Nov. 1 if Beijing maintains rare-earth curbs, while officials expect the talks to seek a broader trade deal.
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President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Oct. 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the White House announced, as the leaders of the world’s two largest economies look to de-escalate a simmering trade war.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the timing Oct. 23 of the meeting during a press briefing.
The meeting in South Korea, which is hosting the APEC summit, will be the first face to face for the leaders since Trump returned to power in January. The two have spoken at least three times this year — most recently in September. Trump and Xi last met in person in 2019, during Trump’s first term.
Trump has long said direct talks with Xi are the best way to resolve the lingering issues between the countries, including tariffs, export curbs, agricultural purchases, fentanyl trafficking and geopolitical flashpoints like Taiwan.
The U.S. president has touted his relationship with Xi, but that rapport will be put to the test following weeks of escalating tensions between the economic superpowers. Trump earlier this month floated the possibility of scrapping their meeting altogether amid anger over Chinese export curbs on rare-earth minerals.
The meeting comes as a trade truce between Washington and China is set to expire Nov. 10, unless it’s extended. The pause on higher tariffs, which has already been renewed multiple times this year, helped ease tensions after the countries ratcheted duties up to sky-high levels. That détente has been threatened by a fresh wave of trade measures in recent weeks.
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The U.S. has broadened tech restrictions on China, floated levies on Chinese ships at U.S. ports and is also considering additional export limits on a wide swath of critical software. Beijing, in turn, has outlined tighter export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals used in a broad range of industries, including technology, energy and transportation.
Trump has threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese products on Nov. 1 if Beijing does not relent on the rare-earth curbs, even as he has said that the high levies are “not sustainable.” Those Chinese curbs have sparked international backlash, sending other economies to look for alternative supply chains for those minerals and consider retaliation.
The U.S. president in recent days predicted that the talks with Xi would produce a “good deal” on “everything” related to trade, touting his “great relationship” with the Chinese leader.
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The Trump-Xi meeting will cap a trip to Asia that will also see the U.S. president stop in Malaysia and Japan. Leavitt said the president is scheduled to depart Washington on Oct. 24 and is expected to arrive in Malaysia — his first stop on the trip — early Oct. 26 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Trump is slated to hold a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and attend an ASEAN leaders dinner that evening, she said.
The president will depart Oct. 27 for Tokyo, ahead of an Oct. 28 meeting with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Trump is scheduled to fly to South Korea on Oct. 29, where he will meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, deliver a keynote address at the APEC CEO luncheon and participate in a working dinner with other leaders attending the summit.
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