BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday in a push to finalize a deal to allow the popular social media app TikTok to continue its operations in the United States.
The call also may offer clues about whether the two leaders might meet in person to hash out a final agreement to end their trade war and provide clarity on where relations between the world’s two superpowers may be headed.
It would be the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the two largest economies. But Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for the social video platform that faces a U.S. ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its controlling stake.
The two men also spoke in June to defuse tensions over China’s restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
He said his relationship with China is “very good” but noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine could end if European countries put higher tariffs on China. Trump didn’t say if he planned to raise tariffs on Beijing over its purchase of Moscow’s oil, as he has done with India.
Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, predicted a positive discussion.
“Both sides have strong desire for the leadership summit to happen, while the details lie in the trade deal and what can be achieved for both sides from the summit,” Sun said.
