President Donald Trump’s trip through Asia is focusing on a “big meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which he predicts “is going to work out very well.”
The meeting is set for Thursday in South Korea, on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Trump, speaking in Japan, was highly upbeat about the prospects.
The backdrop is tense, as a recent trade truce has ended. China’s rare earth controls prompted a US 100% tariff threat (from November 1) and new port fees.
Beijing has responded with its own wave of countermeasures.
Despite this, Trump called the upcoming talks “fantastic” and “great for everybody.”
The president’s stop in Tokyo included a meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a speech to US troops, but the clear diplomatic priority is the Xi meeting.