U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he might attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit taking place in Korea at the end of October.
On the 25th (local time) at the White House, President Trump, when asked by reporters whether he would attend the APEC summit during his meeting with President Lee Jae-myung, responded, "I think I'm going to Korea soon for a trade meeting," adding, "I think I might attend."
President Trump answered that he would attend the trade meeting, and considering that the APEC summit is a multilateral economic forum for countries in the Asia-Pacific region, it is likely that he referred to the APEC summit as the trade meeting.
In response to whether he could meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit, he said it was "an interesting idea."
President Trump expressed his willingness to meet President Xi multiple times during the meeting that day. He said, "I hope to meet President Xi in China this year," and added, "There are 600,000 American students studying in China, and we will allow Chinese students to come to the U.S. to study."
President Trump stated that "if China doesn't export rare earth elements to the U.S., we might have to impose tariffs exceeding 200%, but it's unlikely that the issue will escalate to that point," adding, "We will soon be able to secure a considerable amount of metals from China."
He further noted, "Looking at the negotiation cards, the U.S. is in a far more advantageous position than before," and added, "I might be able to visit China this year or sometime soon."