Washington, US (EFE).— US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping still plan to meet later this month, despite renewed trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
“I believe the meeting will go ahead,” Bessent told Fox Business, referring to the planned summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea later this month.
“There has been substantial communications over the weekend,” Bessent said.
He said more “staff level” talks were expected this week in Washington on the sidelines of the annual fall meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
His remarks came a day after Trump softened his tone toward China following earlier threats to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports and expand technology export controls in retaliation for Beijing’s new restrictions on rare earth exports.
On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “everything will be fine” with China, acknowledging that Xi had been through “a tough time” and emphasizing that the United States wants “to help China, not harm it.”
Beijing, however, blames Washington for the latest flare-up, accusing the US of derailing trade dialogue through measures such as the recently announced special port tariffs on Chinese ships.
The move came just weeks after officials from both sides met for talks in Madrid last September. EFE
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