The planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea remains on schedule despite escalating trade tensions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday.
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Bessent confirmed that the two sides had “substantially de-escalated” after a series of retaliatory trade measures reignited fears of a new trade war between Washington and Beijing.
“The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we’ll see where it goes,” he said, adding that the proposed 100% tariff on Chinese goods “does not have to happen” if negotiations make progress.
Bessent said he expected the meeting between Trump and Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea in late October to proceed as planned. “He [Trump] will be meeting with [Communist] Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on,” he stated.
The assurance came days after Trump announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports from November 1, following Beijing’s decision on October 9 to tighten export controls on rare earth minerals, materials essential for high-tech manufacturing.
Bessent said “substantial communications” had taken place since the announcement, with more staff-level talks expected this week.
While affirming Trump’s willingness to negotiate, Bessent criticized Beijing’s new export restrictions, calling them a direct challenge to global supply chains.
“They have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world,” he said. “China is a command and control economy. They are neither going to command nor control us.”
Bessent added that the U.S. is coordinating with allies in Europe, India, and Asia to counter the move. His remarks followed Trump’s own conciliatory post on Truth Social, where the president wrote, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment.
He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”
Trump’s softer tone helped stabilize investor sentiment after markets plunged on Friday following his tariff threat. Wall Street rebounded on Monday, with major indices rising at the opening bell.
China has defended its new export curbs, which require foreign firms to obtain government approval before exporting products containing Chinese rare earth elements and to disclose their intended use.
The Ministry of Commerce said the measures were a response to recent U.S. actions, including the blacklisting of Chinese firms and the imposition of port fees on China-linked ships.
Beijing accused Washington of taking ‘provocative and damaging’ actions and labelled Trump’s tariff threat a typical example of double standards.
China controls nearly 90% of global rare earth mineral processing, giving it significant leverage over industries that rely on the materials, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, and defence technologies.
The United States remains one of the largest consumers of Chinese rare earths, which are vital to its defence and technology sectors.
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