Rare Earths Spat Won’t Stop “Fantastic” Xi Meeting, Says Trump

A contentious spat over rare earth minerals is not dampening President Donald Trump’s optimism for his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump called the upcoming talks “fantastic.”
“I will be meeting with President Xi the day after tomorrow,” Trump confirmed from Tokyo. The “big meeting” is scheduled for Thursday in South Korea, during the APEC summit.
The trade relationship soured recently when Beijing moved to control its rare earth exports, a critical component for many US industries. This prompted a swift US threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective November 1.
The economic dispute has also seen the US levy additional port fees on Chinese ships, leading to a predictable series of countermeasures from China. This ends a recent period of relative quiet in the trade dispute.
Despite this, Trump projected success. “I think it’s going to work out very well, actually. It’s gonna be great for everybody,” he stated.
Trump’s visit to Asia has centered on discussing trade with world leaders. Before heading to South Korea, he was in Tokyo, where he met with Japanese business leaders and the newly elected Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi.