Trump says he expects to reach deal with China on trade, soya beans and possibly nuclear arms

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Oct 22 that he expected to reach agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in South Korea next week that could range from resumed soya bean purchases by Beijing to limits on nuclear weapons.

Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he planned to discuss China’s purchases of Russian oil and how to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its third year.

“I think we’ll make a deal,” Mr Trump told reporters during a meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, adding that he believed Mr Xi had shifted his thinking on the war in Ukraine and would be receptive to a discussion about ending the war.

“He would now like – I’m not sure that he did at the beginning – he would now like that war to end,” he said. Mr Trump’s comments stood in contrast to more strident remarks from his top trade negotiator and finance chief, who were headed to Asia on Oct 22 to keep Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Xi, the first of his second term, on track.

The US President downplayed the importance of China’s curbs on exports of rare earth magnets that have roiled markets, calling it “a disturbance” and describing tariffs as a “more powerful” issue.

Mr Trump, under pressure from US farmers reeling from

big drops in Chinese orders

for soya beans, said he expected to reach some agreement with Mr Xi on the issue. A deal was also possible on nuclear arms, he said, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised the prospect of a bilateral de-escalation of nuclear weapons, and China could be added to that effort.

Trade tensions between the US and China, the world’s two biggest economies, have flared in recent weeks after months of relative calm. Mr Trump imposed

additional duties of 100 per cent

on China that are due to take effect on Nov 1 after China announced export controls on nearly all rare earths.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were headed to Malaysia to defuse tensions over Beijing’s rare earth export curbs, as officials in Washington prepared to hit Beijing with fresh measures if no deals are reached. 

Reuters reported earlier that the Trump administration is considering a plan to curb a wide range of software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, to retaliate against Beijing, following Mr Trump’s threat earlier in October to bar “critical software” exports to China.

Mr Bessent said Mr Greer was already en route to Kuala Lumpur and that he would head there later on Oct 22, before joining Mr Trump for the rest of his Asia trip.

“This is China versus the globe. It’s not just on the US,” Mr Bessent told Fox Business Network’s Kudlow programme. “This licensing regime that they’ve proposed is unworkable and unacceptable.”

He said the US and its Western allies were contemplating how to respond if they were unable to negotiate a pause in Beijing’s plans, or some other relief.

“I’m hoping that we can get this ironed out this weekend so that the leaders can enter their talks on a more positive note,” he said. Mr Bessent described the planned meeting as a “pull-aside”, in what may be an attempt to dampen expectations.

Mr Trump is scheduled to travel to Kuala Lumpur for an Asean meeting that begins on Oct 26, and later that week, is expected in South Korea ahead of a leaders’ summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that is being held from Oct 31 to Nov 1 in Gyeongju.

Mr Bessent said Mr Trump would also stop in Japan to meet its

new Prime Minister, Ms Sanae Takaichi.

The US Treasury chief said he was optimistic that two days of “fulsome” talks with Chinese officials would lay the groundwork for a good meeting of the two leaders, noting that Mr Trump had great respect for Mr Xi.

China violated commitments, Greer says

Washington also announced

sweeping new sanctions

against two Russian oil companies, but stopped short of imposing tariffs on China – one of the largest buyers of Russian oil – as it has done with India, another big purchaser.

Mr Greer and Mr Bessent have both stressed that they do not want to decouple from China, nor escalate the situation, but insist the United States needs to rebalance trade with China after decades of very limited access to Chinese markets.

Mr Trump has sent conflicting signals on the Xi meeting in recent days, telling reporters on Oct 21 that it might not happen.

Mr Greer told CNBC’s Squawk Box programme that China’s rare earths measures violated a commitment its officials had made months ago to keep supplying rare earths needed for high technology, but said the US and China could find a new balance for trade in non-sensitive goods. China also had unfulfilled obligations to buy US agricultural and manufactured goods under a trade deal signed during Mr Trump’s first term as president, he said.

“The US has always been quite open to the Chinese, and it’s really been driven by Chinese policies that exclude US companies and drive overcapacity and overproduction in China. None of that works for the United States,” Mr Greer said. “We can’t live that way any more so we need an alternative path.” REUTERS