Trump and Xi tipped to meet ahead of or during Apec summit in South Korea

This year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea is probably the best opportunity for Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to meet in person this year, multiple sources have said.

They said Trump might visit China before going to the Apec summit between October 30 and November 1, or he could meet his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Apec event.

According to South Korean media reports, Xi plans to attend the event in Gyeongju, but Trump’s participation is yet to be confirmed.

Earlier this month Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had their first face-to-face meeting – a potentially important step towards the two presidents meeting. Meanwhile, in a phone call last month, Xi invited Trump and his wife to visit China, an invitation the US president reciprocated.

Rubio told reporters after meeting Wang that there was a “strong desire on both sides” for a meeting between the two presidents.

US-China relations have fluctuated since Trump returned to the White House in late January and threatened heavy tariffs of up to 145 per cent on Chinese goods. Since then, however, both sides have worked to stabilise relations, agreeing on a preliminary trade deal that eases China’s rare-earth export restrictions and US technology trade barriers.