▲ U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 10, 2025, in this photo released by AFP. (Yonhap)

(4th LD) Trump-China

(4th LD) Trump threatens to cancel meeting with Xi at APEC, unveils plan for additional 100 pct tariffs on China

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS more info in paras 5-6)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Friday to cancel a plan to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a multilateral forum in South Korea late this month, criticizing Beijing's move to impose export controls on rare earths, but he said he will be in Korea "regardless."

Excoriating Beijing for taking an "extraordinarily aggressive position" on trade, Trump also announced plans to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods, starting Nov. 1, and implement export controls on all critical software on the same day.

"I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so," he wrote in a post on Truth Social, referring to the multilateral gathering that Korea will host in the southeastern city of Gyeongju from Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

His remarks cast uncertainty over the prospects of the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi, at which the two sides are expected to primarily discuss pending trade issues. The fate of the meeting is expected to hinge on how Beijing responds.

During a press availability later in the day, Trump struck a more cautious tone when he responded to a question about whether he has called off the meeting with Xi.

"I don't know that we're going to have it," he told reporters at the White House. "But I'm going to be there regardless. So I would assume we might have it."

In the post, Trump said that China is sending letters to countries to tell them that it wants to impose export controls on "each and every element of production having to do with rare earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it's not manufactured in China."

"Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would 'clog' the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China," he said.

The United States and other countries have been sensitive to China's restrictions on rare earths as they are critical elements used in the production of electronic devices, weapons systems and other consumer tech products.

Trump said that his administration has been contacted by other countries that are "extremely angry" about China's move.

"Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one," he said.

He went on to say that there is no way China should be allowed to "hold the world captive."

"But that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the 'Magnets' and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least," the president said.

In a separate post later in the day, Trump said that China's trade measure affects all countries "without exception," arguing that it is "absolutely unheard of in International Trade and a moral disgrace in dealing with other Nations."

"Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the U.S.A., and not other Nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100 percent on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying," he said.

"Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software."

Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that with the APEC summit in just over two weeks, it is unclear whether Washington and Beijing are willing to de-escalate at this juncture to save the meeting between Trump and Xi.

"Seoul must be watching this back and forth with dismay, particularly if it makes Trump a 'no show' for the APEC meeting, the first it has hosted in twenty years," she said in her commentary.

She also said that Trump's latest post shows "how fragile the emerging detente between the two countries really is."

"Beijing has become increasingly assertive, believing it has the upper hand in the bilateral relationship. Moreover, the Chinese seem to have concluded that Trump so desperately wants a face-to-face meeting with Xi that he is willing to overlook China's recently announced restrictions on rare-earth metals," she said.

"The Truth Social post ... clearly shows otherwise. It shows that two can play this game, threatening new tariffs and even a cancellation of his upcoming meeting with President Xi. The China hawks in the Trump administration must be thinking, 'I told you so.'"

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