Will Trump and Xi End the Trade War Over Dinner?

US President Donald Trump might visit China before attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for October 30 to November 1, or he could meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC event in South Korea, according to a Sunday report by the South China Morning Post citing multiple sources.

The two nations have been engaged in negotiations to end an escalating tariff war that has disrupted global trade and supply chains.

While both sides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders in the region this year, they have not yet confirmed a date or location, according to an insider familiar with the matter.

Trump has sought to impose tariffs on virtually all foreign goods imported into the US, claiming this will boost domestic manufacturing. Critics argue that this approach will lead to higher prices for many consumer goods for Americans.

He has proposed a universal base tariff rate of 10 percent on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from nations deemed problematic, particularly China, which currently faces the highest tariff rate of 55 percent.

Trump has set an August 12 deadline for the US and China to reach a durable tariff agreement.

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment on the reported plans for a meeting with Xi in the fall.

The most recent high-level meeting between the two countries took place on July 11, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held what both described as productive and positive talks in Malaysia regarding the future of trade negotiations.

Rubio mentioned that Trump had been invited to China to meet with Xi and stated that both leaders are eager for the meeting to occur. On Friday, China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao expressed China’s desire to stabilize its trade relationship with the US, emphasizing that recent talks in Europe demonstrated no necessity for a tariff war. (Reuters)