Amid Rare Earth Controls, Trump Confident “Fantastic” Xi Meeting Looms

Even as China tightens its grip on rare earth exports, US President Donald Trump is projecting confidence about his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping. “We are gonna be (having) a fantastic meeting,” Trump said from Tokyo.
The talks are set for Thursday in South Korea, where the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Trump called it a “big meeting” and predicted it “is going to work out very well.”
This optimism is set against a tense backdrop. Beijing’s rare earth export controls prompted a harsh response from Washington: a threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective November 1.
This recent flare-up has shattered a period of relative calm. The situation was further aggravated by new US port fees on Chinese ships, which led to a predictable series of countermeasures from Beijing.
“That’s a big meeting, and I think it’s going to work out very well,” Trump reiterated. He suggested both sides are ready for serious discussion, adding that he and Xi “have a lot to talk about.”