The two leaders will meet in South Korea on October 30 for the first time since 2019 amid an escalating trade war.
US President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as part of a trip to Asia, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday.
Trump will leave for Malaysia and South Korea, where he will meet with Xi next Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Leavitt did not provide further details about the meeting.
The announcement comes amid an escalation of the trade war between the two countries. Trump threatened last week to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting in November.
It marked a sharp escalation in tensions following Beijing’s decision to introduce tighter restrictions on the export of rare earths, although it has previously said the high tariffs are “not sustainable”. Beijing’s new policy does not explicitly target the United States, but American high-tech companies rely heavily on Chinese supplies of rare earths.
While Trump said weeks ago that he would meet Xi at the APEC summit, he did not announce the exact date. However, he also raised the possibility of canceling their meeting entirely amid anger over Chinese restrictions on rare earth mineral exports.
Later on Wednesday, the US president said the two leaders would reach agreements on everything from trade to nuclear energy, adding that he also plans to address China’s purchases of Russian oil.
The meeting in South Korea will be the first face-to-face between the leaders since Trump returned to power in January. They have spoken at least three times this year, but last met in person in 2019 during Trump’s first term.
You can share this story on social networks:
