US-China Trade War: Trump and Jinping will meet in South Korea, the US President confirms

Washington, October 18 (IANS). The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will be held in South Korea. On this occasion, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet. US President Trump himself confirmed that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in the next few weeks. Trump made the comments during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Yonhap News Agency reported. China has decided to tighten export controls on rare earth metals (which are essential components for the production of various military and commercial products). Since then, trade tensions between the two superpowers have increased. “China wants to talk and we like to talk to China. So we have very good relations and we are going to meet in South Korea in a few weeks,” he said. Regarding his tariff policy, the US president claimed that the US is in a “very strong” position ahead of a possible meeting in Korea. During this, the US president was asked if his meeting with Xi Jinping could lead to a trade deal. To this Trump said, “Maybe.” “They want to negotiate and we want to negotiate and I think we’ll make a deal that’s good for both of us. I think we’ll get something done,” he said. Last Friday, Trump condemned China’s export controls and threatened to cancel a planned meeting with Xi Jinping. He also announced plans to impose additional 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 and impose same-day export controls on all critical software. Trump talked about the tariff plan, saying he could “raise it” if he wanted to, and that China did not want the tariffs to take effect. President Trump also mentioned South Korea, Japan and the European Union, claiming: “We just want to be treated fairly. But fairness is that there are hundreds of billions and even trillions of dollars coming into the United States and our national security is protected because of the tariffs. If there were no tariffs, we would have no national security. So that’s very important.” In a Fox Business interview that aired earlier the same day, President Trump also said that he and Xi Jinping had “scheduled” a “separate” meeting. “We are going to meet in a few weeks. Actually we are going to meet in South Korea. President Xi Jinping and others too. But we have scheduled a separate meeting,” he said. On the tariff plan against China, President Trump’s stance seemed a bit soft. He said: “It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number. Maybe not… It can last, but they forced me to do it. I think we’ll be fine with China.” Trump also praised Xi, saying, “I get along very well with him; he’s a very strong leader and a great person.” He went on to say that the US must reach a “fair deal” with China and reiterated his charge that China had “betrayed” the US. –IANS KK/AS