Trump to pursue stability with China’s Xi in May meeting, USTR Greer says

The US is ‘not looking for a massive confrontation’, Greer says, adding that the two countries have a stable relationship.The United States economic and trade relationship with China is stable and US President Donald Trump will aim to keep it that way in a meeting next month with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says.“What we are not looking for is massive confrontation or anything like that” with China, Greer said on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4India’s nuclear leap: Why its fast breeder reactor success matterslist 2 of 4From 9pm shutdowns to remote work: Egypt cuts fuel amid power crisislist 3 of 4Can Africa tackle the oil shock from the Iran war?list 4 of 4UK blocks rapper Kanye West from entry over anti-Semitism and Nazi supportend of listGreer said the world’s two largest economies have settled into a stable situation in which the US is able to access Chinese rare earth minerals and maintain substantial tariffs on Chinese goods.“When we think about what to expect for the president’s meeting, … we’re looking to maintain that stability. We’re looking to ensure we can continue to get rare earths from the Chinese.”Greer, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed issues involving rare earths in Paris in March, including minerals that go through third countries before they make it to the US.US access to rare earthsAlthough the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing was postponed from March to mid-May due to the US-Israel war on Iran, Greer said minister and staff-level consultations on rare earths have continued.“It would be nice not to have it come up at the leaders meeting,” Greer said of the rare earths issue. “It’d be nice if we could resolve it at the ministers level and the staff level, and hopefully, we’re in a position to do that. But, of course, the president, as he has in the past, he will continue to advocate for US access to rare earths.”