US President Donald Trump is still expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month, as both countries move to ease recent trade tensions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Bessent said there had been “substantial communication” between the two sides over the weekend and that further talks were planned this week in Washington during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings. “We have substantially de-escalated,” Bessent said, according to Reuters. “President Trump said that the tariffs would not go into effect until November 1. He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on.” The planned meeting would take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by South Korea in late October. Bessent added that a 100% tariff on Chinese goods “does not have to happen,” saying that “the relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we’ll see where it goes.” The comments helped calm financial markets, with US stocks rebounding strongly on Monday after steep losses on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite index rose nearly 2 per cent, while other major indexes gained about 1%. The recent dispute began when China announced tighter export controls on rare earth elements materials vital for technology production prompting Trump to threaten new tariffs. Bessent described China’s move as “provocative” and said the United States had pushed back firmly. “China is a command and control economy. They are neither going to command nor control us,” he said. China has defended its new export rules and accused the United States of escalating trade tensions. Under the new regulations, any company using Chinese rare earth materials or equipment will need a Chinese export licence, even if the finished product is made abroad. Bessent said Washington would reject those licensing requirements. Trump’s tariff threat last week had briefly unsettled global markets, sending the S&P 500 index down more than 2 per cent in its biggest one-day drop since April.
