Trump to meet Xi Jinping at APEC summit amid rising trade tensions

President Donald Trump is traveling to Asia Friday evening, shortly after North Korea fired a ballistic missile for the first time in months and as questions loom over trade talks with China.

The White House confirmed that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid escalating trade tensions between the two countries after Beijing announced on October 9 that it would impose export controls on rare earth magnets, which are used in a host of products from electric cars to F-35 fighter jets. In response, Trump announced that the United States would impose new 100% tariffs on all Chinese goods, set to take effect on November 1.

Despite this, Trump has sought to ease tensions and has regularly touted his relationship with Xi in recent weeks. Furthermore, he expressed confidence that both sides would leave the summit satisfied and that an agreement would be reached.

Trump threatens ‘massive’ China tariffs, sees ‘no reason’ to meet XI

The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

“I think we’re going to do very well and everyone will be very happy,” Trump said Thursday.

The summit between Trump and Xi will mark the first time they have met in person since Trump took office in January. The two men had previously met in person in June 2019 in Japan.

Trump’s meeting with Xi will come at the end of a larger trip to the region. Trump will first travel to Malaysia to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday afternoon before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dinner in the evening.

NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILES A FEW DAYS BEFORE TRUMP’S VISIT TO THE PENINSULA

Chinese President Xi Jinping during a press conference with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, not pictured, at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, November 20, 2024. (Ton Molina/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

During his stay in Malaysia, he will also meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Trump will then travel to Tokyo on Monday and is expected to meet on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was just elected earlier in October. Takaichi is the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Japan.

Trump will then wrap up his trip to South Korea, where he will meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and deliver a speech at the APEC CEO luncheon.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH XI JINPING AT APEC SUMMIT IN SOUTH KOREA SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH

President Donald Trump, right, and Xi Jinping, President of China, greet attendees by waving the U.S. and Chinese national flags during a welcome ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump is expected to return to Washington on Thursday.

Meanwhile, North Korea has stepped up its aggression in recent days, firing several short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the first launched by Pyongyang since May. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un demonstrated a new intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade in front of senior Chinese, Russian and other officials on October 10.

“We are aware of the DPRK’s multiple ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners,” the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from any further illegal and destabilizing acts,” INDOPACOM said. “While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, its territory, or our allies, we continue to monitor the situation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.