U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month, as both countries move to reduce trade tensions following a new flare-up in their long-running trade dispute, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday.
Speaking on Fox Business Network, Bessent said the two sides had “substantially de-escalated” after trade actions involving rare earth exports and U.S. tariff threats. “President Trump said that the tariffs would not go into effect until November 1. He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on,” Bessent said.
The latest dispute began last Thursday when China expanded export controls on rare earth elements, a set of minerals critical to the production of electronics, electric vehicles, and defense systems. In response, Trump announced a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports starting November 1, along with new U.S. export restrictions on specialized software..
Beijing denounced Washington’s actions as “double standards,” saying the U.S. had no grounds to criticize Chinese export policies while imposing its own trade barriers. In a statement released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, officials said China’s export measures were driven by “security concerns” tied to the military uses of rare earths amid “frequent military conflict.”
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Despite its statement, China has not announced retaliatory tariffs, unlike the earlier rounds of trade tension. A ministry spokesperson said, “Threatening high tariffs at the drop of a hat is not the right way to deal with China. Our position on tariff wars has always been consistent: we don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid to fight.” Beijing’s decision to refrain from immediate retaliation may have reserve room for negotiation ahead of the expected Trump–Xi meeting.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials are engaging allies in Europe and Asia to coordinate responses. “China is a command and control economy. They are neither going to command nor control us,” Bessent said, noting that Washington expects support from India, Japan, and European democracies.
While Trump initially described China’s export curbs as “surprising and very hostile,” he later struck a more conciliatory tone regarding the meeting with Xi. Posting on Truth Social, he wrote: “Now there seems to be no reason to do so,” referring to canceling the meeting, before clarifying to reporters, “I haven’t canceled … I would assume we might have it.”
The White House has not yet released a formal agenda, but officials say the talks in Seoul could address tariffs, supply chain resilience, and export controls.