Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Trump, Xi Set to Hold Talks on Thursday


(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week during an Asian tour, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday.

Trump will travel to Malaysia and South Korea, where the bilateral meeting with Xi is scheduled for the following Thursday alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC). Leavitt offered no additional information about the encounter.

The confirmation arrives as commercial hostilities between Washington and Beijing intensify. Trump warned last week of imposing an extra 100% levy on Chinese imports beginning in November.

The threat represented a dramatic spike in bilateral friction after Beijing unveiled stricter controls on rare-earth exports, though he said earlier that the high tariffs are "not sustainable." Beijing's new restrictions don't explicitly name the US as a target, yet American technology firms rely heavily on Chinese rare-earth mineral supplies.

Weeks ago, Trump indicated he would convene with Xi at the APEC gathering without specifying an exact date. However, he also floated the possibility of scrapping their meeting altogether amid anger over Chinese export curbs on rare-earth minerals.

On Wednesday, the US president stated the two leaders would reach agreements on everything from trade to nuclear power, adding that he also plans to address China's purchases of Russian oil.

The South Korea summit marks the first in-person encounter for both leaders since Trump reclaimed the presidency in January. While they've held at least three phone conversations this year, their last direct meeting occurred in 2019 during Trump's initial presidential term.

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