Trump optimistic ahead of talks with Xi Jinping, to discuss Taiwan and Russia-Ukraine

US President Donald Trump on Friday, October 24, said he was optimistic ahead of his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the two leaders are expected to discuss a range of sensitive global issues including Taiwan, the Russia-Ukraine war and bilateral ties, reported by ANI. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One before leaving for his Asia visit, Trump said he was looking forward to a “good meeting” with the Chinese leader.

“We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” he said. Trump confirmed that Taiwan would be on the agenda, noting, “I will be talking about Taiwan. I won’t go there, but I will be talking about it. A lot of respect for Taiwan.” His comments come at a time when US-China relations remain tense over Beijing’s military activities near the island and Washington’s support for Taipei’s self-defence.

Focus on Ukraine conflict and global cooperation

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The US President also said he hoped Beijing could play a constructive role in helping Washington manage its relationship with Moscow and find a way to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. “We want China to help us out on Russia,” Trump said, adding that the conflict’s human toll remained alarming. “One of the things we’ll talk about is Russia, Ukraine. They’re killing 7,000 people a week, soldiers, mostly soldiers, and we’ll certainly be talking about that,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly said that peace in Ukraine remains a top foreign policy priority and that he wants to explore diplomatic options that could involve major global powers, including China.

Trump’s remarks came a day after he responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s criticism of new US sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil. The sanctions freeze their American assets and bar US citizens or entities from doing business with them.

When asked about Putin’s comments, Trump told reporters, “I am glad he feels that way. I’ll let you know about it in six months from now. Let’s see how it all works out.”

Putin had earlier described the sanctions as an “unfriendly move” but said they would not cause significant damage to Russia’s economy. He also noted that Moscow and Washington “have many areas in which they could cooperate” if both sides avoided pressure tactics and held “serious conversations about the long term.”

Trump also confirmed that he had recently called off a scheduled meeting with the Russian President, saying it “didn’t feel right” to proceed under current conditions. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” he said.

The decision followed growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine and the recent sanctions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the sanctions were “appropriate and necessary” given the lack of progress in peace talks. “The president wants to make sure that a meeting between himself and President Putin will be a good use of his time. He wants to see action, not just talk,” she said.

She added that Trump remained motivated by the success of his earlier Middle East peace initiative and wanted to apply the same determination to ending the conflict in Europe.