US President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, reaffirming the meeting that had been questioned following an escalation in trade tensions. Leavitt informed reporters that Trump departs for Malaysia late on Friday night and will also visit Japan and South Korea. In South Korea, he is scheduled to meet Xi next Thursday after addressing the APEC CEO Summit.
“On Thursday morning local time, President Trump will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Xi of the People’s Republic of China, before departing to return home,” Leavitt said.
Will ask him about Fentanyl: Trump
Trump on Thursday (local time) took a tough stance on China’s alleged role in smuggling fentanyl into the US via Venezuela.He accused China of using Venezuela as a transit point for fentanyl, evading US and Mexican port controls. Trump, during a press interaction at the White House, stated that the first question he would ask the Chinese leader would be about fentanyl.“I’m meeting with President Xi… The first question I’m going to be asking him about is fentanyl. They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country. They lose $100 billion with the 20% tariff. So it’s not a good business proposition… It’s one of the things we’re talking about… They pay a very big penalty for doing that… We’ll see what happens at the end of next week… I’m meeting with President Xi, actually, in South Korea...,” said Trump.
What to expect in Trump-Xi meeting
There is a lot at stake, so pressure is building on both leaders Trump and Xi to calm trade tensions that risk damaging the world’s two biggest economies.In this meeting, Trump is expected to crack a deal with Xi as he recently offered to lower tariffs on Chinese exports to the US but insisted that Beijing, too, had to make concessions, including resuming purchases of US soya beans, curbing the flow of ingredients used to make the opioid fentanyl – which has caused an overdose epidemic in America – and lifting restrictions on the export to the US of rare earth minerals, which are needed to manufacture hi-tech products such as smartphones, Guardian reported. Rare-earth stocks continue to be at the top of investors’ minds as the market weighs potential outcomes of a meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.A failure to reduce trade tensions could further harm US industries that are already grappling with the impact of Trump’s tariffs. The President was optimistic ahead of his meeting with Xi, telling reporters this week: “I think we’re going to end up having a fantastic deal with China … it’s going to be fantastic for the entire world”. Time is of the essence, however, as Trump and Xi’s meeting, yet to be confirmed by Beijing, is scheduled to occur just as additional duties of 100% on Chinese exports to the US are set to take effect.The leaders are also expected to discuss Taiwan, amid concerns that Trump might hesitate in Washington’s support for the democratic, self-governing island under pressure from Xi. Beijing has reportedly requested the White House to declare opposition to Taiwan independence – a move that would please China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be reunified with the mainland.
US-China ties
Trade tensions between the United States and China intensified in recent weeks following President Trump’s announcement of 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese exports, set to take effect two days after the leaders meet.Trump’s pledge followed China’s announcement of newly imposed export controls on rare earth metals and related technologies in electronics and military goods. The new US tariffs would be “over and above any tariff” that China is already paying, Trump wrote in a social media post earlier this month. Trump added on Wednesday that his priority is to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Xi “would now like to see that war end,” the president said. It will be the first in-person meeting between the leaders since 2019, when the two met in Japan at the G20 summit, as per Politico.
