Trump says he hopes to reach a deal with China

Washington — President Trump said in South Korea on Wednesday that he hopes to leave a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping with a U.S.-China trade deal in hand.

“I hope we’re going to reach an agreement. I think we’re going to reach an agreement. I think it will be a good agreement for both of us,” the president said. “The world is watching and I think we will have something very exciting for everyone.”

Trump made the remarks during a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, as part of a nearly week-long tour of Asia. Much of his trip has focused on solidifying trade deals and boosting economic ties with U.S. partners in the region: The president has signed trade and tariff agreements with Japan, Malaysia and several other countries, and will hold talks with South Korean officials later in the day.

But the meeting with Xi in South Korea on Thursday is one of the most anticipated parts of the trip. The session could be tense as China and the United States have clashed over trade for months.

The US president is pressing Xi to loosen a series of tough restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, which are essential for everything from computer chips to the aerospace industry, threatening 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting Saturday unless Beijing backs down. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the additional 100% tariffs — which would raise the total U.S. rate to 140% — were “effectively off the table” after a two-day meeting with a Chinese negotiator.

The trade war has also led China to cut purchases of American soybeans, causing pain for American farmers, although Bessent said Sunday that wait for the soy boycott to end. And Mr. Trump needs chinese approval for a deal to transfer TikTok’s U.S. operations from Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.

Mr. Trump provided earlier this week that the two leaders will reach an agreement at the end of their trip, saying he has “a lot of respect for President Xi” and “I think we will reach an agreement.”

Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China during the Biden era, told News themezone chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes that Wednesday’s meeting is “very important,” calling the trade war a “test of wills” between the world’s two largest economies.

“China is now the most important competitor, the adversary of the United States around the world. It will be that in the future,” Burns said. “So the stakes are high, because we have a lot of issues where we compete with China.”

Trump addresses US partners in Asia

The president also used his speech at the APEC event to promote the other trade agreements he signed in Asia. Trump highlighted his plans to partner with other countries in key industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors and critical minerals, and framed the trade negotiations as an extension of US defense alliances in the region, telling audience members that “economic security is national security.”

APEC is a regional economic group with 21 member countries in the Pacific Rim, including China, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. Promoting free trade is an important component of the forum, despite Trump’s push to impose higher tariffs on many member countries, a strategy the president says is necessary to rebalance trade but critics warn could lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth.

The president is seeking to close a trade deal with South Korea, the United States’ sixth largest trading partner. Over the summer, Mr. Trump announced a framework agreement That means the United States imposes 15% tariffs on South Korean products, while South Korea invests billions in American industry and opens its market to American cars. Bessent told reporters that the deal with South Korea is unlikely to be resolved this week, but it is close.

During the APAC speech, Trump called South Korea “a dear American friend and close ally.” He said he is looking to work with the country on investments in American shipbuilding.

Before leaving Tokyo, Trump also signed a trade agreement with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday binding 15% tariffs on imported Japanese goods, down from the 25% initially threatened by the president. Japan also pledged $550 billion in investments in American industry. And the president announced trade frameworks with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand early in the trip.

He is also expected to meet at some point with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as the microchip giant partners with the Department of Energy to build an artificial intelligence supercomputer and pushes for greater access to the Chinese market.

And Trump has said he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip, although no such meeting has been planned. In Trump’s first term, he became the first sitting president to visit North Koreaa trip that occurred after he extended an invitation to kim on social networks. Gyeongju, with a population of about 250,000 in southeastern Korea, is located on the opposite side of the country from Seoul, the country’s capital, and is therefore further away from neighboring North Korea.