Trump, Xi to Meet in Gyeongju Oct. 30

The White House confirmed President Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Oct. 30 at APEC in Gyeongju, South Korea; Xi is scheduled to visit South Korea Oct. 30–Nov. 1. Trump departed on a three‑nation Asia tour that includes Malaysia (for the ASEAN summit), Japan and South Korea, and is scheduled to deliver a keynote at the APEC CEO luncheon on Oct. 29. Lower‑level U.S.–China trade talks underway in Malaysia are preparing an agenda for the leaders' meeting expected to cover rare earths and other critical minerals, semiconductor and software export controls, Chinese purchases of Russian oil, fentanyl and agricultural trade. Markets and officials are watching the Gyeongju meeting as an opportunity for modest, incremental steps rather than a full restoration of pre‑dispute terms, and the White House frames the trip as a chance to secure economic agreements amid broader geopolitical tensions. Trump said he would be willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if Kim reached out, and Seoul’s unification minister called such a meeting “considerable,” but a senior U.S. official stressed no summit with Kim is currently on the schedule.