Trump, Xi might meet ahead of or during October Apec summit in South Korea, SCMP reports
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The world's two biggest economies have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war that has threatened to upend global trade.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Trump may visit China or meet Xi at APEC in South Korea this autumn amid ongoing efforts to end trade disputes.
- Trump aims to impose tariffs, including a 10% universal base rate, potentially raising Chinese import tariffs to 55%.
- China seeks stable trade ties with the US, as Wang Wentao believes recent talks show a tariff war is unnecessary.
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US President Donald Trump might visit China before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit between Oct 30 and Nov 1, or he could meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec event in South Korea, the South China Morning Post reported on July 20 citing multiple sources.
The two biggest economies in the world have been trying to negotiate an end to an escalating tit-for-tat tariff war
The two sides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders in the region this year, but they have not confirmed a date or location yet, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr Trump has sought to impose tariffs on US importers for virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing, but critics say the higher levies will instead make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans.
The US President has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10 per cent on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from the most “problematic” ones, including China. Imports from there now have the highest tariff rate of 55 per cent.
Mr Trump has set a deadline of Aug 12 for the US and China to reach a durable tariffs agreement.
A spokesperson for Mr Trump did not respond to a request for comment about the reported plans for a meeting with Mr Xi in the fall.
The two countries’ most recent high-level meeting was on July 11, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had what both described as a productive and positive meeting in Malaysia about how trade negotiations should proceed.
Mr Rubio noted then that Mr Trump had been invited to China to meet with Mr Xi, and said that both leaders “want it to happen”.
On July 18, China Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China wants to bring its trade ties with the US back to a stable footing and that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war. REUTERS
