Two-Hour Conversation: Trump Says, "Visiting China Next Year, Xi Also to Visit U.S. at the Right Time"
Consensus Reached on TikTok U.S. Operations Sale
Third Leader Call in Three Months, Emphasizing "U.S.-China Cooperation Is Essential"
President Donald Trump of the United States and President Xi Jinping of China will meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to be held in Gyeongju, South Korea, at the end of next month. This will mark their first face-to-face meeting since President Trump’s return to office, and it will be the first time in 13 years that the leaders of the United States and China visit South Korea together since the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.
The meeting between the two leaders will be their first in approximately six years, following the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. This upcoming APEC Summit is expected to emerge as the 'biggest event' on the global diplomatic stage.
On the 19th (local time), after a roughly two-hour phone conversation with President Xi, President Trump announced on his social networking service 'Truth Social' that "we have agreed to meet at the APEC Summit in Gyeongju," adding, "Both sides are looking forward to this meeting."
It remains uncertain whether the two leaders will hold a formal summit or settle for a brief encounter during the two-day meeting scheduled for October 31. However, the significance is considerable, as this will be the first face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders since the start of Trump’s second term.
President Trump also announced, "I will visit China early next year, and President Xi has agreed to visit the United States at an appropriate time." If this schedule is realized, it will be the first visit to China by a U.S. president in eight years since Trump’s first term in 2017.
The upcoming meeting in Gyeongju and next year’s planned visit to China are raising expectations that the two sides may find common ground on major issues such as trade disputes, semiconductor and rare earth export controls, and security instability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking to reporters, President Trump assessed his conversation with President Xi positively, stating, "We made progress on trade, fentanyl, the war in Ukraine, and the TikTok divestment issue." Regarding the TikTok divestment, he said, "I thank President Xi. He was a gentleman," effectively suggesting that an agreement has been reached.
The leading scenario for the TikTok divestment is that a consortium of U.S. investors, including Oracle, will acquire a majority stake and take over its operations. This plan has been pursued as an alternative to the 'TikTok Ban Act' enacted by the U.S. Congress last year, and President Trump previously postponed the enforcement of the ban until December 16 to allow more time for negotiations.
After the call, President Xi also described the conversation as constructive, saying, "The U.S.-China relationship is extremely important, and both sides can prosper together." This was the second direct communication between the two leaders since President Trump’s return to office, and the third such exchange this year.
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