Trump expects to reach deal with China on trade, soya beans and possibly nuclear arms

US President Donald Trump said on Oct 22 that he expected to reach agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in South Korea next week that could range from resumed soya bean purchases by Beijing to limits on nuclear weapons.

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Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he planned to discuss China’s purchases of Russian oil and how to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its third year.

“I think we'll make a deal,” Mr Trump told reporters during a meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, adding that he believed Mr Xi had shifted his thinking on the war in Ukraine and would be receptive to a discussion about ending the war.

“He would now like - I'm not sure that he did at the beginning - he would now like that war to end,” he said. Mr Trump’s comments stood in contrast to more strident remarks from his top trade negotiator and finance chief, who were headed to Asia on Oct 22 to keep Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Xi, the first of his second term, on track.

The US President downplayed the importance of China’s curbs on exports of rare earth magnets that have roiled markets, calling it “a disturbance” and describing tariffs as a “more powerful” issue.

Mr Trump, under pressure from US farmers reeling from big drops in Chinese orders for soya beans, said he expected to reach some agreement with Mr Xi on the issue. A deal was also possible on nuclear arms, he said, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised the prospect of a bilateral deescalation of nuclear weapons, and China could be added to that effort.