First Trump-Xi meeting in 6 years — what to expect

US President Donald Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, October 30. This will be their first meeting during Trump’s second presidential term.

Novyny.LIVE has compiled forecasts on what to expect from the upcoming meeting.

Where and when the meeting will take place

The leaders will meet in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

It’s worth noting that South Korea is seven hours ahead of Eastern Time (EST). For example, 9:00 a.m. in South Korea is 2:00 a.m. EST. Therefore, the meeting will likely take place in the early morning hours of October 30 EST.

Forecasts regarding the meeting

During a White House press conference, Trump stated that the agenda will include Russia’s war against Ukraine. In particular, he will try to influence China to stop purchasing Russian oil. In return, China may receive certain concessions regarding Taiwan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that China is not interested in Russia losing. At the same time, he hopes that after Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping, China will reduce its purchases of Russian oil. Ukraine supports the US policy of limiting the export of Russian energy resources to other countries, as the money from oil and gas sales is being used by Russia to fund the war.

Some experts believe that ending the war in Ukraine depends on agreements between Trump and Xi Jinping. For instance, Serhiy Sobolev, a member of parliament from the "Batkivshchyna" party, stated on Ranok.LIVE that China needs to be involved in the negotiation process.

However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, noted that expectations for the meeting should not be too high, as China follows its own logic in relations with Russia and Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that a key topic of discussion will be the trade agreement between the US and China. It is worth noting that during 2025, trade tensions between the countries increased, as both sides implemented reciprocal tariffs.

According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, as of September 25, 2025, the average US tariff on Chinese exports was 57.6%, while the Chinese tariff on American goods was 32.6%. Recently, Trump had threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods, but this threat was removed from the agenda before the meeting.

Trump also expects that following the meeting, the US will reduce tariffs on Chinese goods. Some analysts believe this meeting could mark a new stage in China-US relations.
Additionally, the US leader announced a major deal with China regarding TikTok.

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