Washington — President Trump heads Wednesday to Gyeongju, South Korea, for the Asia Pacific Financial Cooperation summit and his extremely anticipated assembly with Chinese language President Xi Jinping.
Mr. Trump is predicted to handle the summit Wednesday morning, native time, and meet with Xi a day later. He’s additionally anticipated to satisfy sooner or later with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, because the microchip large companions with the Division of Vitality to construct a synthetic intelligence supercomputer and presses for extra entry to China’s market.
The cease marks the ultimate leg of his Asia tour, after visits to Malaysia and Japan in a five-day swing that’s largely been targeted on commerce and financial ties within the South Pacific. Mr. Trump is aiming to cement commerce offers and extract tariffs from different international locations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned Sunday that extra 100% tariffs that Mr. Trump had threatened on Chinese language items had been “effectively off the table” after a two-day assembly with a Chinese language negotiator.
Gyeongju, with a inhabitants of about 250,000 in southeastern Korea, sits on the other aspect of the nation as Seoul, the nation’s capital, and thus, is farther from neighboring North Korea. Mr. Trump has mentioned he could be open to assembly North Korean chief Kim Jong Un throughout his journey, however no such assembly has been deliberate. In Mr. Trump’s first time period, he grew to become the primary sitting president to go to North Korea, a visit that occurred after he put an invite to Kim on social media.
APEC is a regional financial group with 21 member international locations across the Pacific Rim, with selling free commerce being a significant part of the discussion board — regardless of Mr. Trump’s push for larger tariffs on many member international locations. APEC members embrace China, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
The president is trying to cinch a commerce settlement with South Korea, the U.S.’s sixth-largest buying and selling associate. Over the summer season, Mr. Trump introduced a framework deal that entails the U.S. charging 15% tariffs on South Korean items, whereas South Korea invests billions in U.S. trade and opens its market to American automobiles. Bessent advised reporters the South Korea deal is unlikely to be resolved this week, however it’s shut.
President Donald Trump, left, and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake fingers throughout a signing ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Earlier than leaving Tokyo, Mr. Trump additionally signed a commerce take care of new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, cementing 15% tariffs on imported Japanese items, decrease than the 25% initially threatened by the president. Japan additionally pledged $550 billion in investments in U.S. trade. And the president introduced commerce frameworks with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand earlier within the journey.
Mr. Trump’s assembly with China’s Xi may very well be a tense one, as the 2 world powers have clashed on commerce and tariffs for months.
The president is urgent Xi to loosen a set of powerful export restrictions on uncommon earth parts, that are important for the whole lot from pc chips to aerospace, threatening 100% tariffs beginning Saturday except Beijing backs off.
The commerce struggle has additionally led China to chop off purchases of U.S. soybeans, hitting American farmers, although Bessent mentioned Sunday he expects the soybean boycott to finish. And Mr. Trump wants Chinese language approval for a deal to switch TikTok’s U.S. operations from Beijing-based dad or mum ByteDance.
“China is the most important competitor, adversary of the United States worldwide now. It will be in the future,” Burns mentioned. “So the stakes are high, because we have lots of issues where we are competing with China.”
