Foreign Ministry announces Xi will attend APEC summit in South Korea

The Foreign Ministry says President Xi Jinping will attend the APEC summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju from next Thursday to Saturday.

This as the White House announced US President Donald Trump and Xi would meet next Thursday.

At yesterday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Xi will hold talks next Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

Trump told a media pool he thought the meeting with the Chinese leader would yield good results that satisfies everyone.

Trump said they would have some big issues with "the farmers and various other things."

But the first question he would be asking Xi about is fentanyl, he said, "I'm putting it right at the front of the list."

Trump also said earlier about his meeting with Xi that he expects to reach a deal with China on rare earths and touch upon topics such as the war in Ukraine.

Beijing, which has not yet confirmed the meeting between the two heads of state, said it remains in close communication with Washington.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry pledged to release information on the matter in a timely manner if there are any updates.

Some analysts suggest the Trump-Xi meeting could be a sign for de-escalation of simmering tensions, as both sides are dialing back trade talks.

The Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to kick off a new round of negotiations with US counterparts over the weekend.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported Washington is preparing a probe into Beijing's adherence to the terms of a trade deal signed in 2020.

China had promised to purchase a total of 200 billion US dollars of US products and services and open its markets to American enterprises, according to the agreement, though the implementation of some terms was impeded by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The report said results of the inquiry could be announced as soon as Friday, which may lead to steeper tariffs on Chinese imports.