U.S. President Donald Trump could travel to China or meet President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, scheduled for Oct 30 to Nov 1, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday, citing multiple sources.
The potential high-stakes meeting comes as Washington and Beijing attempt to resolve a deepening tariff conflict that has disrupted global trade flows and strained supply chains. While discussions about a leaders’ summit are ongoing, no date or location has been officially confirmed, according to insiders.
Trump has championed sweeping tariffs as a means to boost American manufacturing, including a proposed universal base tariff of 10% on all imports—with steeper rates for what he calls “problematic” countries like China, whose goods now face a 55% tariff.
The U.S. president has set an August 12 deadline to strike a lasting trade deal with China, intensifying pressure on both sides to resolve key differences.
Neither Trump’s team nor Chinese officials have officially commented on plans for an autumn meeting.
The last senior-level dialogue between the two countries occurred on July 11, when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Malaysia. Both sides described the conversation as productive and forward-looking. Rubio later revealed that Trump had been invited to China for talks and noted that both leaders were keen for a face-to-face meeting.
Meanwhile, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao stated on Friday that Beijing seeks to stabilize trade relations with the U.S. and believes recent negotiations in Europe have shown that a tariff war can be avoided.
