A meeting in South Korea at the end of October, the TikTok issue moving toward resolution, and the American side’s positive remarks on fentanyl: Although few concrete details emerged from the phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday, September 19, these developments point to efforts to de-escalate tensions between the two powers and have been interpreted favorably by American analysts.

First, the two leaders agreed to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will take place in South Korea on October 31 and November 1. China had pushed for a prior meeting in Beijing to better frame the event, but the symbolism of this first encounter since 2019 is significant. Trump stated that he would visit China the “early part of next year,” while Xi would travel to the United States “at an appropriate time” for the US.

This summit has become possible because the TikTok issue has made progress. “We made progress on many very important issues including [trade, fentanyl], the need to bring the [war] between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok [deal],”Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. For now, no firm or final agreement has been announced, while the US president has postponed by three months the requirement for the Chinese-owned platform to come under American ownership.

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