Trump plans visit to China early next year

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was planning to visit China early next year.

Trump said he still intended to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for later this month in South Korea.

The President added if Washington and Beijing failed to reach an agreement, higher tariffs on Chinese imports would take effect on November 1. However, he expressed optimism about the negotiations, saying China had approached the matter with “great respect” and was paying the United States “huge amounts of money” through tariffs.

Currently, tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 30 percent.

Earlier this month, Trump had sent mixed signals about his stance toward Beijing. While he had initially indicated a possible meeting with the Chinese President, on October 10 he criticised China, accusing it of sending letters to countries around the world announcing plans to impose export controls on all elements related to rare earth metal production, a move Trump said could cause “serious problems” globally.

At the time, he suggested that a meeting with Xi Jinping was no longer necessary.

However, just a week later, Trump once again praised the Chinese leader and said he would be open to meeting him in South Korea, adding that the United States would “be fine” with China and that he wanted a “fair deal”.