Trump to visit South Korea in October; bilateral with China’s Xi Jinping on cards

US President Donald Trump is preparing to travel to South Korea in October to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, reports said on Saturday.

 

Trump is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but no firm plans are in place, CNN reported, quoting top White House officials.

 

There have been serious discussions about a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of APEC, it said.

 

Xi, in a telephone conversation last month, had invited Trump and his wife to visit China. The US president reciprocated the invitation, though no dates have been set. 

 

The officials told CNN that the Trump administration is viewing the trip as an opportunity for the president to secure additional economic investments in the US.

 

Trump’s potential meeting with his Chinese counterpart would come at a time when Washington and Beijing have been repeatedly engaged over tariffs.

 

The APEC summit may also witness Trump sitting down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though whether Kim attends is still a question.

 

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, during his recent visit to the US, had suggested that the summit could provide Trump with an opportunity to meet with Kim.

 

In response, Trump said, "I will do that, and we'll have talks. He'd like to meet with me”. "We look forward to meeting with him, and we'll make relations better."

 

Trump’s trip to South Korea and his likely meeting with Xi comes weeks after the SCO Summit in Tianjin, where the display of bonhomie between XI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had ruffled feathers in Washington.

 

Mocking the meetings, Trump wrote on social media: "Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!"

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