Trump and Xi’s Expected APEC Meeting: Could US–China Trade Tensions Change in November 2026?
Ever wonder why a handshake in a conference hall can end up affecting your phone bill, your grocery prices or even your job? This month, the Trump–Xi APEC meeting could be a fresh example.
What We Know So Far
Xi has announced that he and Trump will meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18–19, and then at the G20 in Miami in December. Reports on whether Trump’s trip is formally confirmed have been mixed. Some outlets say he has confirmed the visit, while another report noted the White House had not formally announced it as of mid-October.
There is also a wildcard. The Kremlin says talks are under way for a Trump–Putin–Xi meeting in Shenzhen, but Beijing hasn’t confirmed it.
How We Got Here
Things got ugly in 2025. Tariffs soared past 100 percent at one point, before the two leaders agreed to a truce in South Korea. That deal paused China’s rare-earth restrictions, cut US fentanyl-related tariffs to 10% and restarted Chinese purchases of American soybeans. Trump later visited Xi in Beijing in mid-May.
Why It Matters to Everyday People
Rare earths sound distant, but they sit inside smartphones, cars and wind turbines. Soybeans matter too, because China’s halt on buying them hurt farmers across the US Midwest. Tariffs, meanwhile, tend to show up eventually as higher prices on store shelves.
If the truce holds or expands, supply chains stay calmer. If it cracks, consumers and businesses in both countries could feel it.
What Experts Are Saying
Analysts aren’t popping champagne yet. Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute says the leaders are “making nice,” yet their countries remain locked in bitter competition over trade, tech, Taiwan, defense and rare earths. Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu has noted that China is still likely to use rare earths as leverage in future negotiations.
What to Watch in Shenzhen
Keep an eye on three things:
- Truce extension: whether the one-year pause gets renewed or upgraded into a lasting deal.
- Tech and chips: export controls remain a sore spot for both sides.
- The Putin factor: a three-way meeting would shift the focus from trade to geopolitics.
With the US midterms behind him, Trump arrives with fewer domestic distractions. That could make a deal easier, though nothing is guaranteed.
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