Washington DC [US], October 21 : US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he wants "to be good to China" as he announced that he is soon travel to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
"I have been invited to go to China and I will be doing that sometime fairly early next year," Trump said while addressing reporters as he met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"I'll be in Malaysia, I'll be in Japan, I'll be in a couple of others. We'll be sort of doing a little bit of a tour," Trump said.
He said that US and China have a "great relationship" and he anticipates a "fair deal" for both countries.
"I think we're going to end up having a fantastic trade deal with China," Trump told reporters.
"We're going to have a fair deal. I want to be good to China. I love my relationship with president Xi," Trump said on his ties with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
His comments come amid trade tensions between the United States and China. Trump imposed 57 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and China on October 9 announced restrictions on the exports of rare-earth minerals. Trump said that unless a deal is reached by November 1, the US tariffs on China could rise significantly, as announced, to 157 per cent.
"And I'm meeting with President Xi. We have a very good relationship. We're going to be meeting in South Korea in a couple of weeks, and we will see what we can do," Trump said.
"I believe after leaving South Korea...We thought that would be a good place to meet, and we're going to be meeting ," the US President said.
South Korean city of Gyeongju is hosting the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering from October 31- November 1.
"I think China's been very respectful of us. They are paying tremendous amounts of money to us in the form of tariffs. As you know, they are paying 55 per cent; that's a lot of money," Trump said.
The US President also added that many countries had previously taken advantage of the United States but emphasised that such practices were no longer tolerated. "A lot of countries took advantage of the US and they are not able to take advantage anymore. China's paying 55 per cent and a potential 155 per cent come November 1st unless we make a deal," he said.
"If they don't want to do business with us, China is in big trouble," Trump said. "I don't want them to be in trouble. I want them to thrive. We want to thrive together. It is a two-way street."
Malaysia is scheduled to host the the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit from October 26-28.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had on Friday said that he and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng are likely to hold talks in Malaysia this weekend to "prepare for the two presidents to meet."
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