U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism Wednesday ahead of crucial trade talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, after Beijing confirmed the meeting will take place Thursday.
Agreeing a truce in the U.S.-China trade war in the meeting with Xi in South Korea would mark a fitting grand finale to Trump's Asia tour.
Beijing said the talks between Xi and Trump would take place in South Korea's Busan, with the U.S. leader telling reporters "a lot of problems are going to be solved" at the "great meeting."
Global markets will zero in on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has snarled supply chains and unsettled businesses the world over.
Negotiators from both sides have confirmed a "framework" has been agreed leading up to Trump and Xi's first face-to-face meeting during the U.S. president's second term.
"We are willing to work together with the U.S. side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
The two leaders will exchange views on "bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest," he said, adding that discussions would also touch on "strategic and long-term issues."
Trump, meanwhile, indicated that any agreement would include lowering 20% tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.
The tariff dispute between the United States and China has been dragging on for months.
Since April, the U.S. has gradually raised tariffs on Chinese imports to as high as 145%. Beijing retaliated with countertariffs of up to 125% and introduced export controls on critical raw materials.
A temporary pause on the planned tariff hikes later paved the way for renewed negotiations. Most recently, Trump warned that tariffs of up to 157% could be imposed on China if no agreement was reached.
Other burning issues include Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.
