Donald Trump again questions the meeting with Xi Jinping. What are his expectations for a trade deal with Beijing?
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. PHOTO: Susan Walsh / AP / Profimedia
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he expected to reach a “good” trade deal with Beijing at an Asia-Pacific summit next week, but warned that a planned meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping may not take place, reports AFP.
The 79-year-old American president repeatedly changed his opinion regarding the organization of the meeting, which is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which will take place in South Korea between October 31 and November 1, Agerpres recalls.
“We're going to get a fair deal and I think it's going to be a very successful meeting. Certainly, a lot of people are looking forward to that,” Donald Trump told Republican senators at the White House.
“Maybe that won't happen. Things can happen where, for example, someone will say, 'I don't want to see you, he's too aggressive,' but he's not really aggressive,” he immediately added.
The US president announced on September 19 that he would meet with Xi Jinping in South Korea, for what was to be their first meeting since returning to the White House. He also mentioned a trip to China early next year.
But on October 10 he threatened to cancel talks with his Chinese counterpart and impose massive tariffs on China after it introduced restrictions on rare earths.
In his latest statements, Donald Trump appears to have softened his tone again, saying on Tuesday that the meeting will take place and that his visit to China “right at the beginning of next year” is “somewhat set”.
Xi Jinping is not the only leader with whom Donald Trump has recently clashed.
On Thursday, he said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary within two weeks to discuss a solution to the war in Ukraine. But the White House said Tuesday that no meeting is planned in the “near future.”
