Trump says he expects to strike U.S.-China deal in meeting with Xi Jinping after months-long trade war

Washington — President Trump said Wednesday in South Korea that he hoped to emerge from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping with a U.S.-China trade deal in hand.

“We’re going to be, I hope, making a deal. I think we’re going to have a deal. I think it will be a good deal for both,” the president said. “The world is watching, and I think we’ll have something that’s very exciting for everybody.”

Mr. Trump made the remarks during a speech to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, the last major scheduled stop of a nearly weeklong swing through Asia. Much of his trip has focused on cementing trade agreements and boosting economic ties with U.S. partners in the region.

Trump says U.S. and South Korea deal “pretty much finalized”

The president has signed trade and tariff deals with Japan, Malaysia and several other countries during his trip, and after scheduled talks with South Korean officials on Wednesday, he told reporters before a formal state dinner hosted by South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung: “We reached a deal. We had a great session. It’s an honor.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told reporters ahead of Mr. Trump’s visit that he didn’t expect a U.S.-South Korea trade agreement to be completely nailed down during the president’s trip, but he said he thought it was close.

Mr. Trump, speaking later to the leaders gathered for the dinner, indicated there were still some details to nail down, saying the U.S. and South Korea had “pretty much finalized a trade deal,” and adding that the negotiating teams “came to a conclusion on a lot of very important items.”

The two countries announced a framework deal over the summer similar to the one signed earlier in the week with Japan, with 15% tariffs on South Korean goods and investments pledged in the U.S.

An end to the U.S.-China trade war?

But a direct meeting with China’s Xi in South Korea on Thursday is the most hotly anticipated part of his trip. The foreign ministry in Beijing confirmed on Wednesday that a sit-down was planned, saying Xi would meet with Mr. Trump in Busan, “to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.”

Officials in Beijing have not yet voiced the same optimism publicly over a looming deal to end the trade war, and the meeting could be tense, as China and the U.S. have clashed for months, imposing reciprocal tariffs and restrictions on the import and export of key items. 

Mr. Trump is expected to press Xi to loosen a set of tough export restrictions on rare earth elements from China, which are essential for everything from computer chips to aerospace. He had threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting from Saturday unless Beijing backs off. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the additional 100% tariffs — which would boost the total U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports to 140% — were “effectively off the table” after a two-day meeting with a Chinese negotiator.

The trade war has led China to halt purchases of U.S. soybeans, causing pain for American farmers, though Bessent said Sunday that he expects Beijing to end its soybean boycott. 

Mr. Trump also needs Chinese approval for a deal to transfer TikTok’s U.S. operations from Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.

Mr. Trump predicted earlier this week that the two leaders will reach an agreement by the end of his trip, saying he has “a lot of respect for President Xi” and, “I think we’re going to come away with a deal.”

Nicholas Burns, a Biden-era U.S. ambassador to China, told CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes that Wednesday’s meeting is “very important,” calling the trade war a “test of wills” between the world’s two biggest economies.

“China is the most important competitor, adversary of the United States worldwide now. It will be in the future,” Burns said. “So the stakes are high, because we have lots of issues where we are competing with China.”

Trump addresses U.S. partners in Asia

The president also used his speech at the APEC event to tout the other trade deals he’s inked in Asia. He highlighted his plans to partner with other countries on key industries including shipbuilding, semiconductors and critical minerals, and framed the trade negotiations as an extension of the U.S. defense alliances in the region, telling audience members that “economic security is national security.”

APEC is a regional economic group with 21 member countries around the Pacific Rim, including China, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. Promoting free trade is a major component of the forum, despite Mr. Trump’s push for higher tariffs on many member countries, a strategy that the president argues is necessary to rebalance trade. 

Critics warn his strategy could lead to higher inflation and more sluggish economic growth.

The president is looking to cinch a trade agreement with South Korea, the United States’ sixth-largest trading partner. Over the summer, Mr. Trump announced a framework deal that involves the U.S. charging 15% tariffs on South Korean goods, while South Korea invests billions in U.S. industry and opens its market to American cars. Bessent told reporters the South Korea deal is unlikely to be resolved this week, but it’s close.

During his APEC remarks, Mr. Trump called South Korea “a cherished American friend and a close ally.” He said he’s looking to work with the country on investments in U.S. shipbuilding.

Before leaving his previous stop in Japan, Mr. Trump signed a trade deal on Tuesday with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, cementing 15% tariffs on imported Japanese goods, lower than the 25% initially threatened by the president. Japan also pledged $550 billion in investments in U.S. industry. 

The president announced trade framework agreements with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand earlier in the trip.

He’s also expected to meet at some point with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as the microchip giant partners with the Department of Energy to build an artificial intelligence supercomputer and presses for more access to China’s market.

No meeting planned with Kim Jong Un

Mr. Trump said repeatedly that he would be open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip, though no such meeting has been planned.

The president said Wednesday that the timing couldn’t be worked out for a sit-down with Kim. North Korea’s government has made no comment on Mr. Trump’s suggestions of another face-to-face meeting between the leaders.

During Mr. Trump’s first term, he became the first sitting president to visit North Korea, a trip that happened after he put an invitation to Kim on social media. 

Gyeongju, where Mr. Trump was for the APEC summit, is in southeast South Korea, on the opposite side of the country as the capital Seoul, and far from the border with North Korea. The two Koreas have remained technically at war since 1953, when the Korean War was halted by an armistice rather than a full treaty.

Mr. Trump said Wednesday that he would still see what could be done to get the Korean conflict “straightened out.”