TikTok, rare earths, Taiwan: Trump-Xi call to run the gamut
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TikTok, Boeing planes, rare earth magnets and Taiwan are among top items for negotiation between the two world leaders.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have plenty to discuss this week in their first conversation since June, with TikTok, Boeing planes, rare earth magnets and Taiwan among top items for negotiation.
They are set to speak in advance of a potential in-person summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea at end October, capping months of a low-boil tit-for-tat around tariffs, export restrictions and investment issues.
Mr Trump posted on Truth Social that he would have a call with Mr Xi on Sept 19
Beijing has not publicly confirmed or commented on the call. The foreign ministry on Sept 16 said only that “head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic leading role” in ties between the world’s largest economies.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met on Sept 15 with Chinese officials in Madrid to hash out a framework to meet the latest sell-or-be-banned deadline for ByteDance’s TikTok app
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with their counterparts last week.
After months of “trade truce” extensions and lower-level talks, here is what is at stake for the Trump-Xi call and beyond:
Where does US-China relationship stand under Mr Trump’s second term in office?
Mr Trump continues to hail Mr Xi as a strong leader he admires, and arguably has been ripping pages from Mr Xi’s playbook as the US looks to take government stakes in companies like Nvidia and Intel. As he aims to secure an expansive deal with Mr Xi, he has spared China over its Russian oil purchases, punted on banning TikTok and spoken more positively on accepting Chinese students at American universities.
At the same time, Mr Trump has targeted China alongside every other trading partner under a renewed “liberation” campaign that is meant to even up what the US sees as trade imbalances across the world.
The two nations have suspended the most extreme tariff measures against each other, which saw US levies on Chinese goods surge to as high as 145 per cent, with the latest deadline looming in mid-November. One 20 per cent tariff was applied as punishment for what Mr Trump sees as inadequate Chinese crackdown on fentanyl trafficking that has devastated American communities and haunted successive administrations.
Both sides have recognised a need to keep stability in the relationship, though there has been plenty of grandstanding and disagreement around each superpower’s influence with Global South countries and in conflicts that rage in Ukraine and the Middle East.
What are some of the top priorities for the US and China on any trade deal?
Mr Trump looks to keep up the trade pressure in his billing of a revival of the US economy that he said has turned on tariffs, which have surged to their highest level in more than a century. China, under some renewed domestic economic pressure, is seeking to remove those extra duties.
Topping the list for Mr Trump is ensuring the flow of rare-earth magnets – a key ingredient for American manufacturing and a sensitive bargaining chip that China has tapped particularly in response to the successive tariff boosts.
The two sides have traded blows around semiconductors, with the US adding 32 companies to its entity list and China responding with fresh investigations of US-made chips.
Mr Trump has demanded a stronger crackdown on entities in China that facilitate the export or financing of fentanyl and related substances. It Is a sensitive issue for Beijing too, as officials have not taken kindly to the implication that they are abetting drug trade.
What low-hanging fruit can either side offer for a pact?
China could look to satisfy Mr Trump’s need for a big win with a series of pledges to purchase more American exports.
Chinese investment in the US would be viewed sceptically by hawks in Washington, which now applies heavy scrutiny to any such transactions. But a Chinese order for hundreds of Boeing planes, which would benefit both Mr Trump and Mr Xi, is expected to be a centrepiece of any deal.
Soybeans are a frequent target and highly exposed to US-China trade talks. A Chinese move to curtail purchases from Brazil and instead shift to the US would be a boon for Mr Trump’s efforts to please American farmers and boost Chinese imports.
From the US side, a further softening in the people-to-people ties could go a long way to thawing relations. More moves to facilitate Chinese students in the US – especially amid a broader US crackdown on immigration – is one possible negotiating point.
What are some other, perhaps stickier, items for negotiation?
Taiwan remains a major source of friction in the US-China relationship. Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated to the US last week that it should “exercise caution” over Taiwan, the island that China considers as its territory. Beijing could seek a reduction in arms sales or military trainers to Taiwan.
Mr Trump’s Maga base is loathe to get more deeply involved in counter-China operations in the Asia-Pacific, while allies including the Philippines have sought firmer military ties with the US amid an increase in South China Sea skirmishes. BLOOMBERG
