hankyoreh

US President Donald Trump. (UPI/Yonhap)

A social media post in which US President Donald Trump said he may reconsider a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping planned for the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju is imperiling the South Korean government’s efforts to become a major player in multilateral diplomacy through the summit. But given Trump’s mercurial temperament, many say anything is possible.

“The US is currently reviewing the schedule of Trump’s visit to Korea, and we haven’t yet received a definite answer [about how long he’ll stay in Gyeongju]. Given the interlocking schedules of the US-China summit, Korea-China summit and Korea-US summit, we’re continuing to discuss this matter with the Americans and the Chinese,” a Korean government official said in a phone interview with the Hankyoreh on Sunday.

“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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Friday.

The comments came as Trump expressed his anger at China’s recent move to control exports of rare earths.

Trump’s message on Truth Social has aroused jitters in the Korean government, including the office of President Lee Jae Myung. The question of whether Trump and Xi will hold a summit could impact not only the schedule of the APEC summit but also the potential for Lee to hold summits with Trump and Xi.

Seoul had initially hoped that as long as Trump stays in Korea for at least two days after his arrival on Oct. 29, it would be possible to hold a Korea-US summit, along with other events. But if the US-China summit is called off, Trump may well shorten his Korea trip to a single day.

The Korean presidential office is reluctant to jump to conclusions. “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment about what’s happening between the US and China. Trump’s remarks seem consistent with the style of his previous messaging. We intend to focus on arranging the APEC schedule [according to the original plan],” a member of the office said over the phone on Sunday.

Trump was asked by reporters whether he’d canceled his summit with Xi while he was announcing a deal with drugmaker AstraZeneca to lower prices at the White House on Friday. “I don't know that we’re going to have [the meeting with Xi], but I’m going to be there [at the APEC summit] regardless,” he said.

Trump’s remark goes beyond reconfirming his plans to attend the APEC summit, suggesting that he remains open to the possibility of meeting Xi.

Experts held a similar view.

“In the end, Trump is the kind of person who is always making rational calculations about his self-interest. Mutual destruction is not his objective. While it’s unclear when the US-China conflict will be resolved, it doesn’t seem that Trump has totally ruled out meeting with Xi during the APEC summit,” said Kim Jung-sup, a principal fellow at the Sejong Institute.

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]