U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled to take place this fall in South Korea. Trump also revealed plans to make an official visit to China in early 2026, while Xi is expected to pay a reciprocal visit to the United States at a later date. The announcement followed a phone call between the two leaders, which Trump reported on Friday through his Truth Social platform.
In his statement, Trump described the conversation with Xi as “very positive” and said they discussed “many important issues,” including bilateral trade, the fentanyl crisis, the need to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the controversial future of the TikTok app in the U.S. market. “We made progress on many very important topics, including trade, fentanyl, the need to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the approval of the TikTok agreement,” Trump wrote. However, despite Trump’s optimistic tone, it remains unclear whether any formal or binding agreement on TikTok was reached during the call.
Earlier in the week, Trump had claimed that a deal with China over the app’s future had been finalized, although by Thursday he merely stated that “it appears China has accepted the plan.” Xi Jinping, for his part, struck a more cautious tone. According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, Xi reiterated that “China’s position is clear” and that “the Chinese government respects the will of businesses.
” Trump added that he expects to hold further phone conversations with Xi in the coming months and expressed hope that they will meet in person at the APEC summit. “The call was very good, we will speak again soon, we appreciate the approval of TikTok, and we are both looking forward to meeting at APEC,” he said. Analysts view the possible TikTok agreement and the resumption of high-level visits between Washington and Beijing as signals of an effort to ease tensions between the two powers, particularly in the areas of trade and technology, though they note that no official commitments have yet been confirmed by either side.
