WASHINGTON- U.S. President Donald Trump might visit China before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit between October 30 and November 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 Sunday citing multiple sources.
The two countries have been trying to negotiate an end to an escalating tit-for-tat tariff war that has upended global trade and supply chains.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.
Trump has sought to impose tariffs on U.S. importers for virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing and which critics say will make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans.He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10% 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%.
Trump has set a deadline of August 12 for the U.S. and China to reach a durable tariffs agreement.A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment about the reported plans for a meeting with Xi in the autumn.
The two countries' most recent high-level meeting was on July 11, when U.S. 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. Rubio said then that Trump had been invited to China to meet with Xi, and said that both leaders "want it to happen."
On Friday, China Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China wants to bring its trade ties with the U.S. back to a stable footing and that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war while urging the U.S. to act in a manner befitting of a superpower. Wang told reporters on Friday that the "ups and downs" in the two countries' relationship underscored their economic interdependence.
Asked about the United States specifically, Wang said: "Major countries should act like major countries. They must shoulder their responsibilities," adding that China would protect its national interests.
Wang said negotiations in Geneva and London earlier this year demonstrated there was no need to return to a trade war. "Practice has proven that through dialogue and consultation, with leadership and communication at the highest levels, we can properly manage contradictions and resolve our differences," he said. "We will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen consensus, reduce misunderstandings, enhance cooperation, to jointly put China-U.S. economic and trade relations back on track to achieve healthy, stable and sustainable development."
