TOKYO — President Trump predicted a “successful transaction” ahead of his Thursday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after negotiators from both countries drafted a framework for a trade agreement. This agreement aims to avert Trump’s threatened 100% additional tariff on Chinese goods.

“I think we’re gonna have a successful transaction for both countries,” Trump, 79, told reporters as he flew to Japan for the second stop on his three-nation tour of Asia, which will conclude in South Korea with the Xi summit meeting.

Trump noted that the final details are subject to change, saying, “I don’t want to tell you what the understanding is, because what we understood yesterday or two days ago or even today is not going to be necessarily what it’s going to be in two days.”

Briefing reporters in the press cabin of the presidential jet, Trump was accompanied by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The tentative framework addresses core areas of dispute in the US-China relationship, Bessent said, including Beijing’s new export restrictions on products made with rare-earth and critical minerals — a key factor that prompted Trump’s threat to increase tariffs on Chinese exports.

“We have a framework for President Trump and President Xi to decide on. We discussed a wide range of things from tariffs to trade, fentanyl, a substantial purchase of US agricultural products and rare earths,” Bessent explained.

Trump added light humor to the briefing, jokingly remarking, “I feel better that this guy’s got nice, broad shoulders. If the plane makes a big turn or something, I’m grabbing his shoulder.”

In addition to trade negotiations, Trump said that a finalization of China’s agreement to lease TikTok’s algorithm by a consortium of primarily American investors may also happen Thursday.

“We got an original approval from President Xi. I expect we’ll have an approval, but I’d rather wait till a couple of days to let you know that,” he commented.

Addressing a Post reporter on Thursday, Trump stated that “the first question I’m going to be asking [Xi] about is fentanyl,” a potent opioid that has killed nearly 330,000 Americans over the past five years according to federal data. This crisis prompted Trump to impose a 20% tariff on Chinese goods in February.

“[China is] paying right now a 20% tariff because of fentanyl. That’s billions and billions of dollars that they’re paying. On November 1, the tariff on China goes to 157%, which is record-setting territory. And we don’t want that, because it’s not sustainable for them,” Trump explained.

“They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country — $100 million. They lose $100 billion with the 20% tariff. So it’s not a good business proposition.”

Earlier in the week, Trump expressed confidence about securing a grand agreement with Xi after inking four trade deals Sunday on the sidelines of the ASEAN conference of Southeast Asian countries in Kuala Lumpur, the first stop of his Asia tour.

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam will gain new tariff reductions for certain products in exchange for pledges to buy American goods, make investments in the US, and scrap their import restrictions.

Meanwhile, as the president was formalizing those arrangements, Chinese and US negotiators were also meeting in the Malaysian capital to draft a framework for the upcoming US-China summit.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/27/us-news/trump-predicts-successful-transaction-with-china-ahead-of-xi-summit/