AsianFin -- U.S. President Donlad Trump on Wednesday signaled lower fentanyl-related tariffs on China and a “good deal” for both of the world’s top two economies ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“I expect to be lowering that because I believe they’re going to help us with the fentanyl situation,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he headed to South Korea on Wednesday.
Trump hinted He is unlikely to hit China with an additional 100% tariffs that he threatened to impose and would have come into effect on November 1 over Beijing’s tightening rare earth export controls. “We’re doing very well with rare earth, as you know, and we’re, I think, going to make a big step with fentanyl,” he said.
After landing in South Korea, Trump expressed optimism about upcoming meeting with Xi. "We're going to be, I hope, making a deal. I think we're going to have a deal. I think it will be a good deal for both. I think we're going to have a deal," Trump said of the meeting at the APEC CEO Summit held in Gyeongju.
Trump expected that will be a great result that's "better than fighting" and going through "all sorts of problems". "The world is watching and I think we'll have something that's very exciting for everybody," the president said.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Xi on Thursday morning local time in a bilateral meeting that will be part of a multi-country trip to Asia, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week.
China on Wednesday confirmed Xi-Trump 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 South Korea. It will be Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Xi since he took office this year.
As agreed between China and the United States, President Xi will meet with President Trump in Busan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), on Oct. 30 local time to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.
Head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson commented on Trump’s optimistic claiming that a lot of problems will be solved. At this meeting in the ROK, the two heads of state will have in-depth communication on strategic and long-term issues concerning China-U.S. relations, as well as major issues of common concern, Guo told a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
"We are willing to make joint efforts with the U.S. side to work for positive outcomes of this meeting, which will provide new guidance and impetus for the stable development of bilateral relations," Guo said.
Wednesday witnessed more positive signs about cooling China-U.S. trade tensions. China has placed order of at least two cargoes of U.S. soybeans, the first known purchase this season, Bloomberg reported. The report cited unnamed sources that the shipments are booked for loading and possible delivery later this year.
“This purchase, coming directly ahead of the Trump-Xi talks, shows that America means business and that we will restore balance, give U.S. producers the opportunities they’ve earned, and send a message that when America leads in agriculture, the world listens,” US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in her post on X.
The news about China’s purchase of soybeans is a “wonderful” sign for Thursday’s meeting, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.
