Donald Trump to meet Xi Jinping in historic meeting after 'framework' for trade deal agreed

Donald Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a historic meeting this week after a "framework" for a trade deal was agreed.

American officials said negotiators from both sides had hashed out terms for agreements for lower US tariffs on Chinese imports and Chinese concessions on rare earth export curbs.

Mr Trump had earlier threatened new 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods and other trade curbs starting on November 1 after accusing Beijing of taking an “extraordinarily aggressive” stance on trade.

The US President said the measure had been taken as a result of China's new export controls on rare earths.

The two leaders are due to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, to sign off on the terms of the agreed framework.

Mr Trump, who has today met with Japan's first female leader Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, said the meeting with the Chinese President was "big", adding it is "going to work out very well".

"I’ll be meeting with President Xi the day after tomorrow," he said.

"We’re going to be meeting at a very fantastic meeting.

"But we’ll be going to South Korea and then on the following day, a meeting with President Xi, as you probably heard.

"I’d be surprised if anybody didn’t hear. That’s a big meeting, and I think it’s going to work out very well, actually.

"I think it’s going to be great for everybody."

Negotiators from the two countries met in Malaysia over the weekend to hash out a framework trade deal for the presidents to consider, which also addresses issues including TikTok.

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America's Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, told CBS programme "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the details for a deal to transfer ownership of Chinese app TikTok to US control had been ironed out and that Mr Trump and President Xi would be able to "consummate" the transaction next week.

China's Foreign minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call on Monday that China hopes the US will meet it halfway to "prepare for high-level interactions" between the two countries.

President Xi and Mr Trump have "long-standing exchanges and respect each other", Mr Wang said, calling the relationship between the leaders "the most valuable strategic asset in China-US relations," according to China's foreign ministry.

The US State Department said in a short statement that Mr Rubio and Mr Wang discussed the "importance of the US-China relationship and the upcoming meeting" between the countries' leaders, without providing details.

"China-US trade and economic relations (have) experienced some twists and turns," Mr Wang said, according to the Chinese ministry's statement.

"The two sides clarified their positions and enhanced understanding" during the trade talks in Malaysia, he added.

While en route to Japan on Monday, Mr Trump said the US and China are set to "come away with" a trade deal.