Donald Trump will be sitting down with Xi Jinping in South Korea Thursday. This meeting would be the most consequential diplomatic engagement yet between the two leaders. This meeting comes at a particularly tense period between the United States and China. The situation comes on the heels of three months of rising trade conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
The talks will be the first direct move by Trump and Xi since Trump took office. This meeting follows the re-induction of Trump into the White House this year. Analysts are considering this meeting to be very important, due to the deepening issues that both countries are experiencing. From trade tariffs to regional security concerns, the agenda is sure to be both multifaceted and contentious.
The decision to hold the meeting in South Korea served to highlight the country’s strategic importance in the geopolitics of East Asia. South Korea has a major diplomatic role to play with both the U.S. and China. These negotiations have largely been centered on stopping North Korea’s nuclear development. The South Korean government, naturally, is looking forward to the event. They argue that it would create the conditions for much improved relations between Washington and Beijing.
Tensions had already reached a boiling point on multiple fronts, from trade deficits and technology appropriation to military maneuvers in the South China Sea. The stakes couldn’t be higher for either leader. For Trump, proving he is a first-rate leader on the world stage is critical before facing potentially overwhelming domestic woes. For Xi, the most important thing is stability, and control over the pace of China’s economic growth.
Both parties face significant political pressure to produce concrete, significant results from the meeting. Analysts are cautioning that any deals reached might have far-reaching effects on U.S.-China relations. These decisions have the potential to upend global markets and realign international diplomacy.
Indeed, global implications of U.S.-China relations have drawn major media attention to the convening meeting, which will take place on Oct 22-23. With the world looking on, each leader will have to work his own domestic political forces while seeking to develop a more positive bilateral relationship.