BEIJING: Senior Chin­ese and US officials will hold talks in South Korea in the coming days, Beijing’s commerce ministry and Washington’s treasury secretary said Sunday, ahead of an expected summit between leaders Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.

The Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement that Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing’s top economic official, will attend “consultations on mutual economic and trade issues” in South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 12-13).

The discussions will follow consensus reached during prior calls and meetings between the two nations’ top leaders, including their meeting in Busan in October, and will focus on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, according to a statement published by the ministry on its website.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X: “On Wednesday, I will stop in Seoul for a discussion with Vice Premier He Lifeng of China, before continuing on to Beijing for the Leaders’ Summit between President Trump and President Xi.”

US treasury secretary to meet Japanese leadership before landing in Seoul

Bessent said he will meet with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Trump is set to visit China for a high-stakes summit with Xi.

He Lifeng and Bessent have been the chief negotiators for China and the US on all trade and economic issues.

Bessent said he would have prior talks in Tokyo on Tuesday with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, along with other public and private sector representatives.

“Economic security is national security, and I look forward to a productive series of engagements as we work to advance Pres­ident Trump’s Amer­ica First Economic Age­n­da,” Bessent said.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2026