U.S. President Donald Trump. AFP Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 24th (local time) regarding trade negotiations with China to be discussed in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, "They (China) have to make concessions. I think we will too."

According to the White House press corps on the 25th, President Trump responded this way when asked during an interview with the press aboard Air Force One on his Asian tour, which included Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, "Will China need to make concessions for the deal to be reached?"

He added, "Currently, (the U.S.) is looking to impose a 157% tariff on Chinese products. I don't think that is sustainable for them. They want to lower that (tariff), and we want certain things from them."

When asked about the possibility of imposing an additional 100% tariff on China, he replied, "I don't know. It's not important. I don't think they will want it. It wouldn't be good for them, and I don't want to see that either."

President Trump also said, "There are many things to discuss (with President Xi). Various trade agreements concluded in the past, some have been terminated, and some have not, there are many things to discuss. It seems like it will be a good meeting."

These remarks reiterated his optimistic outlook ahead of the summit with China, a global hegemonic rival.

On the 22nd, he also told reporters at the White House that he could discuss not only tariffs and trade issues but also China's suspension of U.S. soybean imports, the Ukraine war, and nuclear disarmament in his meeting with President Xi, adding, "I think something will be resolved."

Regarding the possibility of China invading Taiwan, President Trump warned, "I hope they don't do that. We'll have to see. It could happen or it might not. I hope they don't do that. If they do, it would be very dangerous."

When asked if he was open to changing the U.S. policy towards Taiwan, he replied, "I don't want to talk about that now and create complexity. This trip is already complicated. China will want to have a great decade ahead and they can. Or they could have a bad time, and they won't want that."

Trump answers questions from reporters aboard the U.S. presidential plane. AP Yonhap News. 

When asked if he wanted China to influence Russia, President Trump said, "I hope China will help us with the Russia issue."

He added, "We have imposed very strong sanctions on Russia. I believe those sanctions will be very painful and strong, but I hope China will help us. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I am very confident that we can have a very good meeting."

When asked if he was concerned that the sanctions against Russia were too harsh and might push Russian President Vladimir Putin too far, President Trump said, "I don't think so. Putin says the sanctions won't be very effective, but I don't think he's right about that."

Regarding his meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, President Trump mentioned the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he had a very close relationship, saying, "She is a good friend of Abe, a great man. He (Abe) liked her very much, and she liked him very much. So it's a good sign. I look forward to meeting her."

When asked if he was concerned that Prime Minister Takaichi might try to negotiate trade agreements, he replied, "It's possible. I'm open to whatever they want. We have a great relationship with Japan, and we will have a fantastic relationship with her."

Regarding the suspension of trade negotiations with Canada, President Trump said, "I don't think they have much they can do. So it's probably best to just leave it as it is. Leaving it as it is is very good for us."

Yonhap News