President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One. (AP) US President Donald Trump said on Monday he expects to reach a “fair trade deal” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, even as Beijing announced changes in its top trade team.
Speaking ahead of his talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, Trump told reporters, “I think we’ll be just fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that.”
He added, “We have the best of everything and nobody is going to mess with that… I think we’ll end up with a very strong trade deal. Both of us will be happy.”
Trump did not comment on reports that Beijing is pressuring Washington to avoid supporting Taiwan’s independence, according to Reuters.
China removes senior negotiator from WTO role
Hours after Trump’s remarks, China confirmed the removal of top trade negotiator Li Chenggang from his position as permanent representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The change comes as US-China trade tensions grow following Washington’s expanded sanctions on foreign firms and Beijing’s new export curbs on rare earths and other critical materials.
Li’s removal was part of a wider list of diplomatic appointments approved by President Xi Jinping. The WTO said Li Yongjie has replaced him and presented her credentials on 29 September.
Li’s past role and US criticism
Li, 58, previously served as assistant minister of commerce and took part in four rounds of US-China trade talks aimed at ending tariff disputes between the two countries. He became China’s lead international trade negotiator in April, replacing Wang Shouwen, shortly after Beijing imposed 125% tariffs on US goods.
Tensions rose after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly criticised Li last week, calling him “unhinged” and saying, “Perhaps the vice minister who showed up here with very incendiary language on August 28 has gone rogue.”
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Li’s unannounced visit to Washington in August caused friction after he “demanded senior-level meetings and restated China’s talking points.”
Trump–Xi meeting expected this month
Bessent said he has since worked to reduce tension ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Xi later this month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.
He said on X that he held “frank and detailed discussions” with China’s economic chief He Lifeng last week and that both sides would meet again in Malaysia to try to prevent further escalation of US tariffs on Chinese goods.
