China, US confirm Seoul trade talks days before Trump-Xi summit in Beijing

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will travel to South Korea this week for trade talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, both sides confirmed on Sunday, in the final round of negotiations before a summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing.

The meeting is scheduled for May 12 and 13 in Seoul and comes days before Trump’s state visit to China on May 14 and 15.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said He would lead a delegation to hold economic and trade consultations with the US side. A White House spokeswoman said that Trump plans to host Xi for a reciprocal visit later in 2026.

The talks would be “guided by the important consensus” reached between the two heads of state at their meeting in Busan and in previous phone calls and would address “economic and trade issues of mutual concern”, a ministry spokesperson said in response to a reporter’s question.

Bessent confirmed the meeting in a post on X, saying he would first meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in Tokyo on Tuesday before heading to Seoul on Wednesday for a discussion with He Lifeng ahead of the summit.

A 70-year-old long-time confidant of Xi, He Lifeng has served as Beijing’s lead negotiator on economic and trade affairs with Washington since taking office as vice-premier in March 2023.