Trump expects 'great meeting' with Xi

US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Wednesday for advancing toward major trade deals with Beijing and Seoul, on the eve of crucial talks in South Korea with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The meeting Thursday might yield a truce in the trade war between the world's top two economies, a possible grand finale to Trump's Asia tour marked by praise, pomp and even a replica gold crown from South Korea's leader, AFP reports.

But it looked very unlikely a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would take place at the close of the marathon voyage, with the US president saying "timing" didn't work out.

Trump projected optimism on the Xi talks, which Beijing said would take place in South Korea's Busan, when he told reporters "a lot of problems are going to be solved" at the "great meeting".

Global markets will zero in on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has snarled supply chains and unsettled businesses the world over.

Negotiators from both sides have both confirmed a "framework" has been agreed leading up to Trump and Xi's first face-to-face meeting during the US president's second term.

"We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.

Other burning issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.