Trump-Xi Jinping relations. Scott Bessent announces as many as four leadership meetings

US Finance Minister (Treasury Secretary) Scott Bessent said on Thursday that there may be four meetings this year between US and Chinese leaders, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

In an interview with Politico on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent said that relations between the US and China have reached a level of “very good balance” and that disagreements are less likely to turn into a full-blown economic conflict, as was the case last year.

He added that Trump and Xi may meet up to four times this year, and called the relations between the leaders productive. He noted that the leaders' meeting could take place during Trump's visit to Beijing in April, Xi's potential summer visit to Washington or at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, and during the G20 summit in Miami. He also said that Trump “expressed interest” in attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) meeting in Shenzhen, China, scheduled for November.

Bessent said that he met his Chinese counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng, on the sidelines of the forum in Davos. During the meeting, he heard that the Chinese are committed to implementing the Trump-Xi economic agreement. (PAP)

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