US President Donald Trump announced plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, following a high-stakes phone call Friday that reportedly made “progress” on trade, TikTok, and other bilateral issues.
The anticipated meeting would be the first in-person encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since Trump returned to office, resolving a months-long dispute over timing and venue. Trump also signaled plans to visit China in early 2026, with Xi expected to make a reciprocal visit to the US at an unspecified date.
“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Details on the TikTok negotiations remain limited. Friday’s discussions came after earlier talks in Madrid between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng produced a framework for spinning off ByteDance Ltd.’s US operations. Under the proposed arrangement, ByteDance would hold no more than 20%, while US investors such as Oracle Corp., Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management would gain controlling stakes. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the app would be “owned by all-American investors.”
The Chinese readout of the call struck a more cautious tone. Xi reportedly urged Trump to avoid restrictive trade measures and emphasized the importance of a fair business environment for Chinese firms. Beijing described the talks as “positive and pragmatic,” though tensions remain over US export restrictions, semiconductors, and rare earth materials.
Friday’s phone call also addressed broader geopolitical issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, fentanyl trafficking, and Taiwan. Analysts told Bloomberg that while the APEC meeting is unlikely to produce a sweeping “grand bargain,” the focus on resolving TikTok could pave the way for future negotiations on trade and technology disputes. Neo Wang, lead China macro analyst at Evercore ISI, said, “A sideline meeting at the APEC summit requires a much lower threshold than a state visit. The TikTok progress bodes well for tackling other contentious issues in the future.”
Trump’s engagement with Xi marks a shift from his previous stance on TikTok. The social video app, which he once criticized, has become central to his political strategy, particularly with younger voters. The negotiations come against the backdrop of a temporary trade détente between Washington and Beijing, while unresolved tariffs and US export controls on sensitive technologies continue to strain relations.
The meeting is expected to cover commercial and strategic areas, including a potential Chinese order for Boeing Co. aircraft, as well as collaborative efforts on curbing fentanyl flow and other cross-border issues. The outcome could set the tone for US-China relations through the remainder of Trump’s term.
