U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. EPA=Yonhap News. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on the 13th (local time) that there had been significant communication between the U.S. and China over the weekend, and confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.

Although concerns had been raised that trade tensions could reignite—potentially canceling the planned summit between the two leaders following the U.S. announcement of an additional "100% tariff on China" in response to China's rare earth export controls—both nations appear to be refraining from further escalation and are seeking solutions through dialogue.

In an interview with Fox Business that day, Secretary Bessent stated, "We have de-escalated (tensions) to a significant degree," adding, "President Trump will meet with President Xi in South Korea. I believe that meeting is still on the schedule."

He also noted, "President Trump said that the tariffs (the additional 100% tariff on China) will not go into effect before November 1st."

This is interpreted as an indication that the situation could change depending on the progress of bilateral talks before the deadline for the tariffs announced by President Trump.

Secretary Bessent remarked, "There was substantial communication (between the U.S. and China) over the past weekend," and announced that "a number of working-level meetings will be held between U.S. and Chinese negotiating partners." This signals that both sides' working-level teams will actively meet on the sidelines of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings this week.

Regarding China's rare earth export controls, Secretary Bessent said, "This is a problem of China versus the entire world," adding, "China is aiming a bazooka at the supply chains and industrial bases of the entire free world, and we will not accept this."

He stated, "We will assert our sovereignty in various ways," and added, "We have already been in contact with our allies and are scheduled to hold meetings with them this week. We expect to gain significant global support from democracies in Europe, India, and Asia."

Secretary Bessent said, "I think China is open to discussing this issue," but warned, "If China is not, we have significant leverage at our disposal, which will be on par with or perhaps even more aggressive than China's rare earth control measures."

He further emphasized, "While I am optimistic that we can de-escalate this tension, we are prepared to take all necessary measures."

Yonhap News