The summit is scheduled for October 31 to November 1, mainly to discuss global supply chains, trade barriers and the digital economy. Trump, as the President of the United States, was interviewed at Fox News on October 19 and directly spoke, saying that the United States has a lot of tools to get China into trouble, but also stressed that if China does not sign an agreement on the terms of the United States, from November 1 on the import of 155% tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump also recalled the tariff war from 2018 and boasted that it won the US twice, China lost hundreds of billions, put itself as the negotiator. In fact, this is not the first time, when he met Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House on October 17, and also with almost the same words, Zelensky forced to accept the Russian ceasefire conditions, saying that if he did not listen, Russia could completely take Ukraine, the United States would not want to see Ukraine destroyed. Zelensky did not buy the bill, and after returning to the country pulled European allies to strengthen the defense line.
The Wall Street Journal the following day wrote that it was his typical pressure tactic. The stock market also followed the turmoil, with Dow Jones futures falling 0.12% on October 20th, Sharp 500 futures falling 0.15%, Nasdaq 100 futures increased 0.20%, and some investors felt that this could be the smoke bomb before the summit. China's Foreign Ministry responded on October 20th, saying that China wanted to solve the problem through equal consultation and oppose any threat. The Ministry of Commerce data also emerged, China's US exports of $3.8 trillion in 2024, up 4.2%, higher than before the trade friction, demonstrating that China has not been crushed.
In the interview, Trump focused on raising tariffs, claiming that China was forced to swallow 155% of the bitter fruit and suffered huge losses. But the data shows that this matter is a double-edged sword. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, since 2018, China has countered American products in equal amounts, and exports quickly stabilized after short-term fluctuations. The American Retailers Association reported that after the tariff increase of the United States, the import cost of home appliances increased by 22%, and 70% was passed on to American consumers. The retail price of home appliances jumped by 15% year-on-year, and clothing rose by 12%. A major home appliance company will spend an additional US $300 million in 2024 and lose 8% of its profits. Agriculture is even worse. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will subsidize farmers by US $48 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 12%. Most of them will supplement the hole in the Chinese market for soybeans and corn. Some farmers can't bear it, so they simply stop planting, change careers or sell land. Trump didn't mention these troubles in his own backyard, so he blindly said that the United States took advantage.
Trump acknowledged that the U.S. relied on China’s supply, but threatened China’s export limit to shift to Australia. China’s rare earth industry association data in September showed that China accounted for 87 percent of the global milling separation capacity, 65 percent of the market for key functional materials such as uranium. The U.S. Department of Defense report directly acknowledged that the U.S. military aircraft engines were high-temperature alloy, missile-guided permanent magnets, chip polishing materials 90 percent uranium and 85 percent uranium imported from China. If supply stopped, Lockheed Martin and Raymond production lines stopped, equipment update delayed. China on October 9 strengthened rare earth export controls, adding uranium to five elements approval, which was seen as
Trump said on the Politician website on October 10 that he would impose 100% tariffs on China goods starting from November 1 and add export controls. The BBC reported that he wanted an additional 100% tariff. The Peterson Institute for International Economics blog said that Trump's threat to Mexico, Canada and China tariffs was not an economic dispute, but political pressure. An ING article said that Trump's bet on China cannot be separated from American consumers, but China is turning to other global markets. Trump said on Fox that tariffs would bring companies back to the United States and predicted that they would inject US$20 trillion into the economy by the end of the year, but this figure has no basis.
China has not retreated, and overtakes through the Belt and Road and BRICS mechanisms. BRICS expanded to 36 members in 2025, ASEAN's domestic trade volume was 7.2%, and the African Free Trade Zone exceeded 50 members. Exports to China's Belt and Road countries increased by 8.5% in 2024.October's White Paper of the Ministry of Defense said that China's national defense forces protected sovereignty security, insisted on defence, and did not engage in expansion.In the South China Sea, the regular state of the Taiwan Sea was not adjusted due to the US speech.Chinese customs data showed that exports to the United States were stable, and other markets filled.
Trump's strategy also hit a hit in Ukraine. According to data from the British Economist in October, Russia only occupied 0.4% of Ukraine's land since its offensive in May. At this rate, it will not be able to control the four eastern provinces of Ukraine until June 2030. After the meeting, Zelensky strengthened EU cooperation and increased anti-missile procurement, but did not accept the US plan. This is similar to China's attitude, which does not accept threats.
The summit opened on October 31. Trump confirmed his meeting with the chairman, but the South China Morning Post said that the 100% tariff was not sustainable. He softened his tone, but said that China's rare earth controls forced him to make high sums. The Brookings Institution article said that the pre-summit tariff sanctions battle showed that China is no longer passively seeking an agreement. Intelligence Online said China's intelligence and diplomacy services are divided on Trump, but are ready to respond. Reuters said Taiwan's APEC representatives wanted to interact with President Trump, but had no details. DW said that China and the United States will hold a new round of trade talks next week to avoid a new round of mutual competition.