Xi Jinping and Donald Trump Set to Meet at APEC Summit
China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that Xi Jinping will meet with President Donald Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in South Korea on Thursday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun mentioned, “The two leaders will communicate closely on strategic and long-term issues.”
Guo further expressed China’s willingness to collaborate with the United States to ensure positive outcomes from the meeting, aiming to provide new direction for the stable development of China-U.S. relations.
Discussing President Trump’s focus on fentanyl, Guo asserted that China possesses “the strongest determination” and has “the best track record in the world” regarding drug trafficking. He indicated that China sympathizes with the fentanyl crisis in the United States and has thus far provided support, achieving notable results. Nevertheless, Guo added that the U.S. needed to take concrete actions to promote cooperation.
Guo was somewhat ambiguous regarding whether Xi would also meet with the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is attending the APEC forum. Reports from Japanese media suggest that Takaichi, after meeting South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, is looking to have a conversation with Xi during her visit.
On a separate note, Guo chose not to comment when asked about China’s recent purchase of U.S. soybeans, marking the first significant acquisition in months. Traditionally, China is the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, but purchases had halted since May due to escalating trade tensions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked that a “substantial” return to soybean imports could signal progress toward a trade agreement between China and the United States.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in Busan, a city about 135 miles from Gyeongju, where the APEC summit will take place. While neither Washington nor Beijing provided an official reason for choosing Busan for the meeting, there may be security considerations, especially since Gyeongju, being a smaller city, is currently crowded with APEC forum attendees.
