Bilateral
Donald Trump to meet Xi Jinping on Oct 30 amid US-China friction. What can be expected?
Washington DC/IBNS: US President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea on October 30.
"On Thursday morning local time, President Trump will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Xi of the People's Republic of China, before departing to return home to Washington DC," the press secretary said.
Trump will meet with Xi on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/9vEtlHsH2H
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 23, 2025
The President said, "... I'm meeting with President Xi... The first question I'm going to be asking him about is fentanyl. They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country. They lose $100 billion with the 20% tariff. So it's not a good business proposition...
"It's one of the things we're talking about... They pay a very big penalty for doing that... We'll see what happens at the end of next week... I'm meeting with President Xi, actually, in South Korea..."
#WATCH | Washington, DC | On being asked if China is smuggling fentanyl into the US via Venezuela, US President Donald Trump says, "They are doing that. But they are paying a 20% tariff right now because of fentanyl. That's billions and billions of dollars. On November 1st, the… pic.twitter.com/q2PJx8qZuL
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2025
1. Trade / Economic Issues
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Resumption or increase of Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods (e.g., soybeans) — Trump has flagged this.
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Rare earths and strategic minerals: China has introduced tighter export controls, the U.S. sees this as a leverage point.
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Tariffs and trade structure: The U.S. is pushing for more favourable access / less distortion; China wants to maintain autonomy.
2. Security / Geopolitical Issues
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The Taiwan question: While unlikely to be resolved, it is expected to be raised, especially given its strategic as well as symbolic importance.
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Export controls and technology competition: U.S. concerns about China’s tech policies, China’s push for greater self-reliance.
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Possibly cooperation on global issues: such as drug trafficking (notably fentanyl) or Russia/Ukraine, though these may remain peripheral.
3. Signalling / Diplomacy
- Both leaders likely want to send a message: Trump to show he can “get a deal”, China to show it won’t be pushed into unacceptable concessions. Analysts see this meeting less as a peace treaty and more as a high-level reset or re-engagement.
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The venue (third country, side-lines of APEC) suggests a lower-stakes summit than a dedicated bilateral summit, which may indicate limited ambition.
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