President Donald Trump’s upbeat tone on his upcoming talks with President Xi Jinping contrasts sharply with his administration’s own 100% tariff threat.
“I think it’s going to work out very well, actually,” Trump said from Tokyo. The “big meeting” is set for Thursday in South Korea at the APEC summit.
The tariff threat, set for November 1, was a direct counter to China’s new controls on rare earth exports.
This tit-for-tat, which also includes US port fees and Chinese countermeasures, has ended a recent truce in the trade war.
Despite the conflict, Trump called the upcoming meeting “fantastic” and “great for everybody.”
This meeting is the final and most anticipated event of Trump’s Asia visit. His earlier stop in Japan included meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and addressing US troops.