Trump Confirms Thursday Meeting with Xi in South Korea

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea. “I will be meeting with President Xi the day after tomorrow,” he said from Tokyo.
Trump described it as a “big meeting” and was highly optimistic about the outcome. “I think it’s going to work out very well, actually,” he said. The talks will be on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
This meeting is critical, as it comes amid a new flare-up of trade friction between the two economic giants. A recent period of calm ended when China imposed tight controls on rare earth exports.
The US retaliated with a threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective November 1, and imposed new port fees on Chinese ships, leading to a wave of mutual countermeasures.
Despite the tensions, Trump projected success, calling the upcoming meeting “fantastic” and predicting it will be “great for everybody.”