Topline
President Donald Trump said his face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was “amazing” and both countries had agreed to certain concessions to ease trade tensions, including a reduction of the fentanyl-related tariffs on China and a pause on Beijing export controls on critical rare earth minerals.
Key Facts
Trump and Xi’s face-to-face meeting took place in the South Korean city of Busan on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and it lasted about an hour and 40 minutes.
Trump, who is on his way back to Washington, told reporters on board Air Force One that it was an “amazing meeting,” and he declared Xi Jinping a “great leader of a very powerful, very strong country.”
The president said he will immediately slash his fentanyl related tariffs on China from 20% to 10% as Xi has agreed to a stronger crackdown on the shipment of precursor chemicals for making the synthetic opioid.
Trump claimed that China has agreed to pause its planned export controls on critical rare-earth metals for at least a year.
The president also said China has agreed to buy “large amounts, tremendous amounts of the soybeans” and other farm products that “are going to be purchased immediately.”
Chinese officials have not yet publicly commented on the outcome of the meeting.
What To Watch For
Trump told reporters he will be visiting China in April next year, and his trip will be followed by a reciprocal visit to the U.S. by Xi.
What Else Did Trump Say About The Meeting?
Trump and Xi’s meeting was primarily focused on trade rather than any major geopolitical issues. However, the president said the ongoing war in Ukraine came up “very strongly,” and the two leaders discussed it “for a long time.” Trump said: “We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done. We agree that the sides are, you know, locked in and fighting and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess.” Trump, however, said both sides did not discuss anything about Russian oil in the context of the Ukraine war. When asked about the issue of Taiwan, Trump said, “It never came up. Taiwan never came up. It’s not discussed, actually.”
What About Ai Chips And Nvidia?
When asked about any discussions on semiconductors, Trump offered very few details and said: “We did discuss chips…and they are going to be talking to Nvidia and others about taking chips and we make great chips.” Trump said he will have a word with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and said further discussions are between China and Nvidia, with the U.S. being “sort of the arbitrator or the referee.” Trump, however, noted that Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell chips—whose exports to China have been restricted by Washington—were not discussed. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also addressed the matter, saying: “The president was saying there’s so many chips we already sent to China a lot of advanced chips…as he said you know Nvidia will talk to China and see what’s possible. The Blackwell chips of course weren’t discussed.”
How Close Are The U.s. And China To A Trade Deal?
Report the details…