Summit on sidelines of Apec is the first between the leaders of US and China since 2019, and comes after tensions have been strained by Trump’s trade war
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping since 2019. The meeting comes amid hopes that the leaders of the US and China could hammer out a trade deal that would bring a truce in the blistering trade war between the world’s two largest economies which has roiled global markets and sent international supply chains into panic.
Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed. It is now down to Trump and Xi, who will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in South Korean today, to sign off on it.
The meeting is set to begin at 11am local time – in one hour – in Busan, a port city about 76km (47 miles) south of Gyeongju, the Apec summit’s main venue. News reports a few minutes ago said Xi had left Beijing for South Korea, citing Chinese state media.
High on the meeting’s agenda will be rare earths. China’s chokehold on the supply of the critical minerals – which are vital for US industries ranging from car making to military equipment – has been a powerful bargaining chip for Beijing.
