US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Donald Trump may travel to China in November 2026 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, one of four possible in-person meetings between the US president and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming year.
As with many features of the Trump presidency, this level of contact would be unprecedented, matched only by Trump’s four meetings with Xi in 2017 during his first term.
Speaking on CNBC shortly before US markets opened, Bessent said the US and China will always be competitors, but ties are improving.
“What I feel very good about is the relationship between the leaders,” Bessent said. “We’re always going to be rivals. That’s natural. But are there things we can do together? Yes.”
Addressing a central concern for Trump and his team – rising inflation and the fortunes ofAmerican farmers hard-hit by his trade war with China – Bessent said Chinese purchases of US soybeans are “right on schedule”.
China stopped buying US soybeans as bilateral trade tensions flared earlier this year,turning to Brazil to fill the gap. This became a key irritant ahead of an agreement reached on October 30 for Beijing to buy “at least” 87.5 million metric tons (97 million tons) of US grain over the next three and a half years.
