China's President Xi Jinping and South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung pose for photographs during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Oct 31, 2025. Yonhap via REUTERSChina's President Xi Jinping and South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung pose for photographs during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Oct 31, 2025. Hours after returning to Washington from his Asia tour, Trump hosted the White House's annual Halloween party, along with first lady Melania Trump. During a trip to Malaysia last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur and signed an upgraded China-ASEAN free trade deal. So we don't think that they are champions of the free trade system."
