Bessent: Trump on track to meet Xi, tensions have de-escalated

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump was on track to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea as the two sides de-escalate tensions over trade disputes , US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday. The latest flare-up in US-China trade talks began on Thursday when China dramatically expanded its rare earths export controls , drawing a sharp countermeasure from Trump on Friday.

Bessent said there were substantial communications between the two sides over the weekend. “We have substantially de-escalated,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network . “President Trump said that the tariffs would not go into effect until Nov1. He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on.”
There will be lots of staff-level meetings this week in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF events in Washington, he said.
REUTERS