Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, in a high stakes talk amid a bruising trade war between the two top economies in the world with a tense geopolitical backdrop.
Trump will meet Xi this week on the final day of his Asia visit, which includes trips to Malaysia and Japan. As the US president embarked on the trip, he told reporters, “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting.”
Here’s what is likely to be on the agenda for Trump’s first meeting with China’s Xi since returning to White House for second tenure:
After Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods if a trade deal is not signed with Washington by November 1, the US and Chinese officials held meetings in Kuala Lumpur and readied a potential trade deal for the leaders and reached a preliminary consensus, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that 100% tariff on Chinese imports now remains “off the table”. Trump and Xi Jinping’s talks on Thursday aim to chart a path forward.
Trump earlier told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was optimistic about his meeting with President Xi and that he wants China to buy US soy beans. The US president added that he would discuss fentanyl with his Chinese counterpart as Washington raises pressure on Beijing to curb trafficking of the opioid and a crackdown on Latin American drug cartels.
Trump and Jinping are also likely to talk about the export of rare earth elements. When China imposed restrictions on export of rare earths and related technologies, Trump became furious and issued warnings. He threatened to impose higher tariffs and trade restrictions on Chinese goods as rare earths are essential for use in smartphones and fighter jets as Beijing has been trying to tighten its grip on the products which is the largest producer of rare earths in the world.
Experts believe China is leveraging its rare earth restrictions in part to pressure the US to negotiate over the 20% fentanyl-linked tariffs on Chinese exports. Since the Chinese restrictions played out, Trump has been looking at alternatives, making rare earth deals with countries including Australia and Thailand but the agenda remains a top issue when Trump meets Xi.
Trump has said that he would like to see China helping Washington in its dealings with Russia, as he embarks on a mission to end the war in Ukraine which has been ongoing since February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Trump imposed sanctions on two major oil companies in Russia last week and China said it “opposes” the recent sanctions by Washington.
Trump had said on Saturday that Russian oil purchases could be discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea but added that China is cutting back on Russian oil “very substantially”.
Trump, before leaving for his Asia trip, had said that Taiwan would be among the agenda to be discussed with Xi. Though as per America’s longstanding policy, the United States recognises only China, however, it provides self-defence weapons to Taiwan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Saturday, declined the idea of abandoning Taiwan in order to seal a trade deal with China.
“Taiwan has a lot of things that they’re worried about and rightfully so because of the situation they find themselves in,” Rubio said, The Guardian reported.
