Trump-Xi Meeting Aims to Maintain Stable Trade Relations

U.S. President Donald Trump will aim to maintain stable trade relations with China during a meeting next month with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The upcoming summit follows discussions involving rare earth minerals and potential mechanisms for sustainable trade between the two nations. According to TimesLIVE, Greer emphasized that the world's two largest economies have settled into a stable situation where the U.S. can access Chinese rare earths while maintaining substantial tariffs on Chinese goods.

The meeting, initially postponed due to the Iran war, will focus on continuing minister and staff-level consultations on rare earths. As reported by Reuters, Greer mentioned that resolving issues at lower levels would be preferable to addressing them during the leaders' meeting. The U.S. is also working on plurilateral agreements to boost alternative supplies of critical minerals, with price floor mechanisms to protect against potential predatory pricing from China.

The discussions will include forming a Board of Trade mechanism for Trump and Xi to consider, which would determine what the two countries could sustainably trade without crossing national security red lines. Additionally, there have been talks about a possible Board of Investment between the U.S. and China, but Greer indicated that addressing investment programs is not a priority until the trade deficit is under control.