• China says negotiations to cover strategic affairs, inject new momentum into ties
• US president optimistic about progress on trade deals with Beijing

BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will have “in-depth” talks on major issues on Thursday, as expectations grew for their high-stakes talks in South Korea.

Beijing confirmed the face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is taking place in the city of Gyeongju.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the talks would take place in Busan, a short flight from Gyeongju. “During this meeting, the two leaders will have in depth communication on strategic and long-term issues concerning China-US relations, as well as major issues of mutual concern,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference on Wednesday.

“We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations,” Guo added.

‘Great meeting’

Trump voiced optimism on Wednesday for advancing towards major trade deals with Beijing and Seoul, on the eve of crucial talks with Xi. Trump said he expected their first face-to-face meeting of his second term to result in the United States lowering tariffs imposed on China in relation to fentanyl. He said earlier he expected a “lot of problems” to be solved with Xi in their talks on dialling down their hugely damaging trade war.

The meeting might yield a truce in the trade war between the world’s top two economies, a possible grand finale to Trump’s Asia tour marked by praise, pomp and even a replica gold crown from South Korea’s leader.

But it looked very unlikely a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would take place at the close of the marathon voyage, with the US president saying “timing” didn’t work out. Trump projected optimism on the Xi talks, when he told reporters “a lot of problems are going to be solved” at the “great meeting”. Negotiators from both sides have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed leading up to Trump and Xi’s meeting.

Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.

Other burning issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.

Golden touch

Trump’s three-country Asia tour has seen Malaysia, Japan and South Korea lavishing the US president with praise and showering him with gifts.

New Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter owned by assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe, a close friend of the US president, plus a gold-plated golf ball.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2025