South Korea is set to host high-stakes trade negotiations between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this Thursday.
The “big meeting,” as Trump termed it, will occur on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Trump, speaking from Tokyo, was confident of success.
“I think it’s going to work out very well, actually,” he stated, even as a new trade dispute has erupted. The US has threatened 100% tariffs from November 1 in response to China’s rare earth controls.
This new round of hostilities, which also includes US port fees and Chinese countermeasures, has broken a recent period of relative calm.
Trump, however, focused on a positive outcome, calling the meeting “fantastic” and “great for everybody.”
The APEC summit is the final stop on Trump’s Asia tour. His time in Japan was spent discussing trade, meeting with business leaders, and holding a meeting with Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi.