Washington DC [US], October 21 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Monday said he wants “to be good to China” as he announced plans to travel to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.
“I have been invited to go to China and I will be doing that sometime fairly early next year,” Trump told reporters while meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “I’ll be in Malaysia, I’ll be in Japan, I’ll be in a couple of others. We’ll be sort of doing a little bit of a tour,” he added.
Trump said the United States and China share a “great relationship” and expressed optimism about reaching a “fair deal” between the two countries. “I think we’re going to end up having a fantastic trade deal with China,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a fair deal. I want to be good to China. I love my relationship with President Xi,” he added, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
His comments come amid ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Trump had imposed 57 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, while China announced restrictions on the export of rare-earth minerals on October 9. The US president warned that unless a deal is reached by November 1, tariffs could rise significantly to 157 percent.
“And I’m meeting with President Xi. We have a very good relationship. We’re going to be meeting in South Korea in a couple of weeks, and we will see what we can do,” Trump said. He noted that the meeting is expected to take place in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, which will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering from October 31 to November 1.
“I think China’s been very respectful of us. They are paying tremendous amounts of money to us in the form of tariffs. As you know, they are paying 55 percent; that’s a lot of money,” Trump said.
The president also emphasized that many countries had previously taken advantage of the United States but that such practices were no longer tolerated. “A lot of countries took advantage of the US, and they are not able to take advantage anymore. China’s paying 55 percent and a potential 155 percent come November 1 unless we make a deal,” he said.
“If they don’t want to do business with us, China is in big trouble,” Trump warned. “I don’t want them to be in trouble. I want them to thrive. We want to thrive together. It is a two-way street.”
Malaysia is scheduled to host the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit from October 26 to 28. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that he and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Malaysia this weekend to “prepare for the two presidents to meet.” (ANI)
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