WASHINGTON ‒ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to still meet this month after Trump threatened to skip their meeting and impose massive tariffs on Beijing in retaliation to new Chinese export controls.

Bessent on Oct. 13 said the Trump administration and China had "substantial communication" over the weekend after Trump last Friday threatened to impose a new 100% tariff on imports from China that would go in effect on Nov. 1.

"He will be meeting with Party Chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on," Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business. "The idea is to give them time to meet and work this out."

In addition to last week's tariff threat, Trump also said he may back out of the planned meeting with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, set for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

But Bessent said Trump now believes China's new export controls on rare earth minerals ‒ which triggered Trump's tariff threat ‒ might have come from a "lower-level official," not Xi.

"The Chinese system is quite brittle, so this may not have come from Xi Jinping himself," Bessent said. "This may have come from a Chinese hard-liner. They have hard-liners are their side too, who are always trying to undermine the relationship."

Trump, in an Oct. 12 post on Truth social, suggested the situation with China will work out. "Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!" the president wrote.

Speaking later to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Israel, Trump said, "I think we'll get along just fine. I have a great relationship with China."

The stock market, which tumbled following Trump's tariffs threats, soared on Oct. 13 as Trump and his administration softened its tone with China.

Still, Bessent called it "highly inappropriate" for China to announce the expanded export controls on the same day Trump announced a long-awaited peace deal between Hamas and Israel to end the fighting in Gaza.

"Trying to get leverage before a meeting with Donald Trump is a bad idea, and (Trump) turned the tables," Bessent said. "It was a miscalculation, but we are communicating now. I am confident that we can move forward."

Bessent said Trump officials plan to speak with Beijing officials this week, while Bessent plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart, before Trump meets Xi. He said Trump could choose not to move forward with the tariffs.

"The 100% tariff does not have to happen," Bessent said. "The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we'll see where it goes."

Contributing: Reuters

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's meeting with Xi appears back on as US softens tone with China after tariff threat

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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