Beijing: China Friday confirmed that President Xi Jinping will visit South Korea to attend the APEC Summit, during which he is expected to hold crucial talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump to ease escalating trade tensions between the two countries.
Earlier, the White House had announced that Trump and Xi would meet October 30 in South Korea.
At the invitation of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Xi will attend the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju and pay a state visit from Oct 30 to Nov 1, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters here.
Replying to a question, Guo said China and the US are maintaining close communication on a potential meeting between the two heads of state.
While Trump was open about his plans to meet Xi, Beijing was guarded in confirming the meeting.
Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a media briefing in Washington that Trump will “participate in a bilateral meeting with President Xi”October 30 in South Korea.
The meeting will take place at the end of a three-nation Asia trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea by the US president.
The meeting will take place in the South Korean city of Busan, ahead of the official start of the main Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for October 31 to November 1, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
The meeting between the heads of the top two world economies comes amid heightened tensions as Beijing signalled tighter control over rare earth exports, while Washington threatened additional tariffs and new curbs on key technologies.
Trump, who had earlier threatened to scrap the meeting amid the trade war flare-up, said on Wednesday he hoped for a deal “on everything”.
Speaking to reporters in Washington Thursday, the president said during his talks with Xi, he will raise “some big issues” like the plight of US farmers, but the “first question” that he’ll ask him will be about fentanyl exports, referring to the US’ accusation that China has failed to curb precursor shipments linked to America’s opioid crisis.
Analysts in Washington have warned against expecting major breakthroughs in the meeting.
“Both sides are approaching the relationship with confidence. Both sides believe that the other needs them more than they do. And ultimately, both sides believe that they have the upper hand,” a former senior US government official told the Post.
“Both sides believe they have escalation dominance, [a] very, very dangerous place to be,” the official said.
According to the White House, Trump will leave Washington on Friday for a multi-nation Asia tour.
Trump will arrive in Malaysia Sunday local time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, a meeting he skipped several times during his first term.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng are scheduled to meet in Malaysia later this week to lay the groundwork for the Trump-Xi meeting.
