Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined US President Donald Trump for dinner in South Korea, setting the stage for Trump’s pivotal talks with China’s leader.

The dinner, held in Gyeongju, was a significant gathering with Trump at the center of attention, alongside seven other leaders from APEC nations. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted the event.

Seated beside Trump, Albanese received commendations from the US president.

“We had a great meeting a week ago,” Trump mentioned, referring to Albanese’s recent visit to Washington.

“You’ve done a fantastic job, and we’re collaborating on rare earths, among many other initiatives, all progressing very well,” Trump added.

Last week, in a strategic move to counter China’s dominance in critical minerals, Albanese and Trump signed a $13 billion agreement in Washington.

The US and other countries, including Australia, are investing heavily in rare earths to break China’s domination but it may take years for that to pay off.

The dinner was held ahead of Trump’s eagerly anticipated meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping today, the first face-to-face encounter in his second term.

Trump told the other leaders he was dining with he was confident a deal could be reached with Xi.

“I think we’re going to have something that’s going to be very, very satisfactory to China and to us,” he said yesterday.

The meeting follows months of volatile moves in a trade war between China and the US that have rattled the global economy.

Trump was infuriated earlier this month after Beijing imposed new export controls on rare earths used in technology and threatened to hike retaliatory tariffs to sky-high levels.