On 15 October, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump is prepared to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month, likely during the APEC summit on 31 October – 01 November. Bessent said Washington aims to stabilize ties with Beijing, not escalate tensions. The meeting, which would be the first between the two leaders since Trump’s return to office, could help steady global trade relations. This comes after Trump threatened last week to cancel the meeting following China’s new controls on rare earth exports, which reignited trade frictions.