Trump Plans Meeting with Xi Jinping Amid US-China Trade Tensions

US President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea, marking their first in-person meeting since 2019. This meeting comes amid escalating tensions in the US-China trade war, with Trump having recently threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and criticized China's export restrictions on rare-earth minerals essential to American high-tech companies. Despite earlier doubts and criticisms of China, Trump expressed optimism that the summit would result in agreements on trade, nuclear power, and issues like China's purchase of Russian oil. The White House is also preparing a trade investigation into China's compliance with the Phase One trade deal, which could increase tensions ahead of the summit. Both US and Chinese officials have emphasized the importance of the meeting for strategic guidance of bilateral relations, with China affirming ongoing close communication between the leaders. Trump's Asian trip includes stops in Malaysia and Japan, and follows the cancellation of a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.