U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping may not take place as planned, even though it was scheduled to happen in about two weeks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden during a lunch with Republican lawmakers, Trump said he believes the meeting could result in a strong agreement on trade but admitted that “maybe it won’t happen.”
“I have a great relationship with President Xi. I expect to be able to make a good deal with him,” Trump said, adding, “I want him to make a good deal for China — but it’s got to be fair.” He said he views the possible sit-down as “very successful” but didn’t rule out the chance of it falling apart completely.
“Maybe somebody will say, ‘I don’t want to meet, it’s too nasty.’ But it’s really not nasty. It’s just business,” Trump added.
Trump pushes for deal, but trade fight with China escalates
Trump confirmed that the date and time for the meeting haven’t been finalized but said he expects it will happen “in about two weeks.”He also made it clear that the U.S. will continue pushing for changes in the trade relationship, regardless of whether or not the meeting with Xi takes place.
The agenda for that potential conversation is expected to include fentanyl, soybean exports, Taiwan, and the current fight over rare earth materials, which has escalated sharply in recent weeks.
Ahead of the expected Trump-Xi meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet with Chinese counterparts this weekend. The plan is to work on reducing tensions after China rolled out new restrictions on rare earth exports and Trump responded by threatening more tariffs on Chinese products. This back-and-forth has added to the uncertainty around the summit and what could come out of it.
On Monday, just a day before making the remarks about Xi, Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. Both leaders signed a new agreement to team up on developing supply chains for rare earths and critical minerals.
That move directly challenges China, the world’s biggest supplier of rare earths, and came right after Beijing’s announcement that it would tighten controls on those materials. That decision by China was made earlier this month.
China fires back after U.S.-Australia deal
Following the U.S.-Australia agreement, the Chinese government issued a response. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy, told FOX Business that “the global industrial and supply chains came into shape as a result of the choices of the market and businesses.”
Liu said countries with mineral resources “need to play a positive role in keeping relevant industrial and supply chains safe and stable and to ensure normal trade and economic cooperation.”
As the two governments throw punches over trade, minerals, and tech control, the numbers paint a clear picture of who holds the upper hand — and who’s trying to catch up.
Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that in 2024, China produced 270,000 tons of rare earths and holds 44 million tons in reserves. The U.S. only produced 45,000 tons, with 1.9 million tons in reserves. Australia trails with 13,000 tons produced and 5.7 million tons of reserves.
The reason this matters? Rare earths power everything from smartphones and electric vehicle batteries to military equipment like radars and cruise missiles. With Trump still unsure if he’ll meet Xi in South Korea, the weight of the global tech economy, and a whole lot of geopolitics, is now hanging on whether the two presidents can agree to talk.
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