 "'We have substantially de-escalated': Trump-Xi meeting on track, says US")
US President Donald Trump will still meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, later this month in South Korea, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said, after Potus last week said that he won’t hold a meeting with the Chinese leader after threatening an additional 100 per cent tariff on Beijing.
But after the weekend, Bessent and China’s Commerce Ministry sought to reassure traders and investors on both sides of the Pacific, highlighting the cooperation between their negotiating teams and the possibility they could find a way forward from the current tariff truce.
“We have substantially de-escalated,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network on Monday.
Since Trump’s tariff threat over the weekend, the US and China have engaged in substantial communications to mitigate the issue and settle trade differences ahead of the meeting in South Korea.
“The 100% tariff does not have to happen,” Bessent said. “The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we’ll see where it goes.”
“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.”
China’s Commerce Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that a working-level meeting had taken place the previous day, while highlighting earlier formal negotiations held in London, Stockholm and Madrid, culminating in a 90-day tariff extension.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMeanwhile, the reciprocal tariffs on shipping ports imposed by the US and China will go into effect on Tuesday as the trade war between the two countries intensifies. The port fees on ocean shipping firms will affect the prices of several products.
Earlier this year, Trump’s administration unveiled plans to impose fees on China-affiliated vessels in an effort to reduce China’s dominance in the global maritime industry and strengthen US shipbuilding capabilities.
With inputs from agencies
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