Trump-Xi meeting nears with high stakes and hopes, but few details

A high-stakes gathering betwixt President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could output a breakthrough successful the quarrelsome trade narration betwixt the 2 economic superpowers.

But portion some the Trump medication and Beijing are projecting optimism up of the sit-down, specifics astir the acme stay unclear — and immoderate experts are skeptical of the White House's confidence.

Phil Luck, manager of the economics programme astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said helium was expecting an result that is "relatively minor, comparatively vague" and "not awe inspiring."

"I think, mostly speaking, some america and the Chinese person started a batch of mini fires implicit the past fewer months, and we're going to enactment a fewer of those out, basically," helium told CNBC.

The gathering — the 2 leaders' archetypal face-to-face since Trump retook the White House and began his commercialized warfare with China — is acceptable to commence precocious Wednesday ET, Thursday greeting section clip successful Busan, South Korea.

The one-on-one is the past point connected Trump's docket earlier helium returns to Washington, D.C., capping a five-day, three-country plaything done Asia.

En way to South Korea, Trump said helium expects that his medication volition little definite tariffs connected Chinese imports that are related to the alleged trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S.

"I expect to beryllium lowering that due to the fact that I judge that they're going to assistance america with the fentanyl situation," Trump told reporters connected Air Force One. "They're going to beryllium doing what they tin do."

But erstwhile asked what China is doing to warrant removing fentanyl tariffs, Trump provided nary details.

"Well, I deliberation they're going to bash things that, you know, they person an manufacture that has to bash with drugs. The fentanyl has different reasons for being, and we person to get escaped of it. We person to halt it," helium said.

And erstwhile a newsman pressed for clarity connected whether China would beryllium assisting U.S. instrumentality enforcement connected fentanyl — and if so, however — Trump offered little.

"China is going to beryllium moving with me," helium said, "And we're going to bash something, I believe, I mean, look, we person to person the meeting, our gathering tomorrow. That's a large meeting, and fentanyl volition beryllium 1 of the things that we're discussing."

He added, "Importantly, we'll beryllium discussing the farmers, we'll beryllium discussing a batch of things."

Trump did not elaborate connected however farmers would origin into the discussions.

China has been the apical purchaser of U.S. soybeans, but it halted each purchases of the staple harvest for months amid the tit-for-tat tariff war, costing American farmers billions of dollars successful mislaid revenue.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted that the soybean drought would soon travel to an end.

"I judge erstwhile the announcement of the woody with China is made public, that our soybean farmers volition consciousness precise bully astir what's going connected some for this play and the coming seasons for respective years," Bessent said connected Sunday.

This week, China-owned COFCO bought three U.S. soybean cargoes for December and January shipment, equating to astir 180,000 metric tons of product. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hailed the acquisition arsenic a large measurement guardant and the effect of Trump's "strong dealmaking."

But "that's peanuts" compared to what China would usually beryllium buying successful conscionable a azygous week during the premier autumn harvest season, CSIS' Luck told CNBC.

The White House, asked for further accusation connected what Trump plans to sermon with Xi, referred CNBC to the president's comments connected Air Force One.

Trump, successful those remarks, besides suggested that helium was improbable to bring up the contented of Taiwan with Xi, saying, "I don't cognize that we'll adjacent talk about" the self-governing island.

"I'm not sure. I mean, helium whitethorn privation to inquire astir it. There's not that overmuch to inquire about," Trump said.

The gathering comes conscionable arsenic a caller flare-up successful U.S.-China commercialized relations has appeared to calm down.

Trump successful mid-October had threatened to hike tariffs connected Chinese goods by 100%, starting Nov. 1, implicit Beijing's announcement of caller export restrictions connected uncommon world minerals. Days later, Trump threatened to person the U.S. halt buying Chinese cooking oil successful retaliation for China freezing its soybean purchases.

But aft talks betwixt apical commercialized negotiators for the 2 countries, Bessent said Sunday that the U.S. and China had struck the "framework" of a commercialized agreement that would forestall the 100% U.S. tariff from taking effect.

"I'm besides anticipating that we volition get immoderate benignant of a deferral connected the uncommon world export controls that the Chinese had discussed," Bessent said.

Luck said helium believed that decreasing immoderate tariffs would beryllium 1 of the "simplest" things that Xi and Trump could denote aft their meeting. "We threatened these truly precocious tariffs, but astir instantly it was beauteous wide that we didn't privation to enactment them on," helium said.

Luck said helium besides expected the gathering would output astatine slightest immoderate treatment of "walking backmost immoderate export controls that we person enactment on, and immoderate that they have."

Trump's one-on-one with Xi volition travel aft affable meetings with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and others.

Starting his Asia travel successful Kuala Lumpur, Trump signed alleged reciprocal commercialized agreements with Malaysia and the U.S. announced "frameworks" for commercialized talks with Thailand and Vietnam.

In Japan, Trump met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and signed agreements connected rare earths and atomic power.

Trump besides claimed that Japanese car elephantine Toyota had committed to walk $10 cardinal gathering U.S. plants — but a Toyota enforcement reportedly said that that circumstantial caller concern had not been announced.