Donald Trump has hailed his high-stakes trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea as “amazing,” declaring that their dispute over the supply of rare earth minerals had been resolved and announcing plans to visit China in April.
According to Chinese state media, Xi did not directly comment on the outcome but said both sides’ economic and trade teams had “reached a basic consensus on addressing our respective major concerns” during earlier negotiations in Kuala Lumpur. That progress, he added, had “provided the necessary conditions” for Thursday’s meeting. China’s commerce ministry later confirmed that the Kuala Lumpur agreement included a 10% cut in Trump’s so-called “fentanyl tariff” on Chinese goods, in exchange for Beijing’s decision to suspend certain export controls.
After the meeting, Trump and Xi shook hands before the US president boarded Air Force One for Washington. Speaking to reporters, Trump said Xi had pledged to work “very hard” to curb the production of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for a deadly crisis in the US. In return, Trump said he would reduce the fentanyl-related tariff from 20% to 10%, lowering overall tariffs from 57% to 47%.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping
Though Trump had anticipated that their discussions in Busan might last up to four hours, the meeting concluded after just one hour and 40 minutes. Xi was then scheduled to attend the APEC leadership summit opening Friday in nearby Gyeongju. Still, Trump called the meeting “a 12 out of 10,” saying China had agreed to lift its restrictions on rare earth exports and purchase more American soybeans. The rare earth deal, he said, would last for one year and be reviewed annually.
Just a day before the summit, Reuters reported that China had resumed purchases of US soybeans for the first time in several months.
“All of the rare earth has been settled,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not just a US issue it’s a global issue. There’s no roadblock anymore. Hopefully, we can stop talking about rare earths for a while.”
Trump also said the two leaders agreed to cooperate on efforts related to the war in Ukraine, describing it as a “major topic” of their conversation. “We talked about it for a long time, and we’re both going to see what we can do,” he said, though he acknowledged that China’s imports of Russian oil were “not really discussed.”
Taiwan, another key point of tension, was notably absent from the discussion. Both leaders ignored a question about the self-governing island amid concern in Taipei that Trump might make concessions to Xi, who has vowed to “reunify” Taiwan with the mainland.
Trump and Xi
Before the talks his first face-to-face meeting with Trump and Xi in six had predicted a “successful meeting,” telling reporters at Gimhae Airbase, “He’s a tough negotiator that’s not good,” before patting Xi on the back. Xi, for his part, likened US–China relations to “a large vessel that must stay on the right course,” saying the two countries should “be partners and friends.” (source)
“The world faces many serious challenges,” Xi said. “China and the United States can shoulder our responsibilities as major powers and achieve great and tangible results for our two countries and the world.”
Sitting across from Trump at the negotiating table, Xi noted that although they had not met in person since 2019, they had maintained contact through calls and letters. “We don’t always see eye to eye,” Xi said, “but it’s normal for the world’s two largest economies to have frictions now and then.”
He added: “A few days ago, our economic and trade teams reached a basic consensus and made encouraging progress. I am ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China and the US.”
