Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump have spoken by phone for the third time this year. Both presidents evaluated the nearly two-hour-long conversation in positive terms, with Trump calling it “very productive” and Beijing describing it as “pragmatic, positive and constructive”. Trump suggested a TikTok deal was sealed, but stopped short of confirming that U.S. investors would have full control of the app’s Chinese algorithm. He said the deal needs to get signed but called it “just a formality”, insisting that the U.S. will have a “very, very tight control” of the algorithm.
Both Presidents could have a side meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on October 31-November 1. The Chinese side, meanwhile, urged a resolution on TikTok that complies with Chinese law, though it also offered no details on the outcome of the call. Xinhua News Agency said issues of mutual concern were discussed in a “candid” manner and included an “in-depth exchange of views”. The call “provided strategic guidance for the stable development of China-U.S. relations in the next phase”, it added. “The U.S. should refrain from taking unilateral restrictive trade measures to prevent undermining the achievements made through multiple rounds of consultations”, the statement warned.
Urging the U.S. to provide an “open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest in the U.S.”, Beijing noted that companies should “conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests”. Wendy Cutler, Senior Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former U.S. Trade Negotiator, said that while reaching an agreement was “encouraging”, many other “irritants” remain on the bilateral agenda that put a stable bilateral relationship at risk, including fentanyl, soybeans, critical minerals and magnets “and growing Chinese manufactured exports”. China has issued a formal state visit invitation to Trump, and preparations are in the final stages, with bulk purchase deals – including Boeing jets and soybeans – being discussed. Despite strong will on both sides to stabilize ties, the countries are at odds on issues, including tariffs, TikTok, semiconductors, the South China Sea, Taiwan, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A tariff truce between the world’s two largest economies is due to expire on November 10, while Trump also proposed that NATO countries should impose tariffs of up to 100% on China over its purchases of Russian oil, claiming the move would be “of great help” in ending the war in Ukraine, the South China Morning Post reports.
