AsianFin -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hinted a trade deal with China would come soon as senior officials are communicating to set the stage for meeting between the two heads of state.
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Trump said the U.S. and China are going to “come away with” a trade deal ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I've got a lot of respect for President Xi and I think we're going to come away with a deal," Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Japan from Malaysia.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Xi on Thursday morning local time,or October 30, in a bilateral meeting that will be part of a multi-country trip to Asia, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a briefing last Thursday.
Leavitt’s remarks confirmed Trump-Xi talks will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) annual meeting, which is set to be held from October 31 to November 1 in Gyeongju, South Korea. It will be Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Xi since he took office this year. Xi has already had three phone conversations with him — in January, June and September since Trump returned to the White House.
Trump on Monday expressed his upbeat on talks with Xi. "We have China coming and its going to be very interesting," said the president, adding that he might sign a final deal on TikTok on Thursday.
Monday saw Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with U.S.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sign that both countries are paving the way for Xi-Trump meeting.
Wang during the phone call expressed hopes that China and the United States will work in the same direction, make preparations for high-level interactions, and create conditions for the development of bilateral relations, reported the state news agency Xinhua.
Wang stressed that President Xi and Trump are both world-class leaders who have maintained long-term exchanges and share mutual respect, which Wang said has been the most valuable strategic asset for China-US relations.
Both Washington and Beijing on Sunday sent positive signals on a trade agreement on the horizon following the latest new round high-level talks on the weekend.
Trump and Xi are expected to reach a deal to to avoid Trump’s threat of 100% additional tariffs on China, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after the two-day trade negotiations in the Malasian capital . “I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday,” Bessent said.
Bessent told CBS News that Trump’s new tariff threat is “effectively off the table”, and he expected China to make make “substantial” soybean purchases and offer a deferral on sweeping rare earth controls. The U.S. wouldn’t change its export controls directed at China, he added.
Bessent on Sunday said in a NBC News interview that a framework is ready for Trump-Xi meeting this week. “I’m also anticipating that we will get some kind of a deferral on the rare earth export controls that the Chinese had discussed,” Bessent said.
China and the United States reached basic consensuses on properly addressing several important economic and trade issues of respective concerns, and will then go through their respective domestic approval procedures,said Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang on Sunday in Malasia, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
Over the past two days, the economic and trade teams from China and the U.S. engaged in in-depth and candid discussion on issues including the U.S. Section 301 measures on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, extension of the suspension of reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl-related tariff and counternarcotics cooperation, expanding trade, and export controls, Xinhua cited Li, a top aide to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, leader of the Chinese delegation.
The two sides conducted constructive discussions on solutions to properly address the concerns of both sides, and reached basic consensuses, Li said. He also said the U.S. delegation expressed its position in a tough manner, and the Chinese side remained resolute in safeguarding its interests.Going forward, the two sides will further enhance communication and exchanges, working actively to foster more stable and sound development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations, said Li.
