US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held talks in South Korea where they discussed the war in Ukraine and agreed to walk back elements of their bruising trade war.
Speaking aboard Air Force One following the October 30 sit down, Trump said that he had an “amazing meeting” with Xi and they they agreed on “many important points,” including agreements on trade, tariffs, and rare-earth minerals.
He told reporters that he will reduce a tariff on China over its role in the fentanyl crisis by 10 percent and that China would resume “large amounts” of soybean purchases from the United States, which were stopped in May in response to US tariffs.
Trump added that a deal was also reached on lifting Chinese restrictions on the flow of rare-earth minerals, 17 elements that play tiny but vital roles in cars, planes, and weapons. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who is also Air Force One, said China would not be imposing its proposed rare earth controls that were expanded in October after an understanding between the presidents. He did not comment on controls that are already in place that were introduced in April.
“All of the rare earth [issue] is settled, and that’s for the world… This was a worldwide situation and not just a US situation,” Trump told reporters. “There’s no roadblock from China anymore.”
Trump added that he also discussed the war in Ukraine launched by Russia in February 2022, saying that he and Xi agreed to “work together.”
“We agree that the sides are locked in fighting and sometimes you gotta let them fight I guess. But we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” he said.
In comments published through Chinese state media, Xi said that both sides reached a consensus to resolve “major trade issues” and that the Chinese and American teams will be continue working on delivering outcomes that will serve as a “reassuring pill” for both countries’ economies.
“China and the United States can jointly demonstrate the responsibility befitting of major powers, working together to accomplish more significant, practical and beneficial undertakings for both nations and for the world,” he said.
The meeting at Busan’s Gimhae International Airport appears to have set the stage for a broader dialogue in the coming months, with Trump saying that he plans to visit China in April and that a tentative trade deal could be signed soon.
Analysts told RFE/RL that they see limited room for a broader agreement during the talks, but that dialing back trade tensions could lay the groundwork for discussions towards a larger deal when Trump travels to China and Xi is expected to visit the United States next year.
Moments before the talks began, Trump announced that he has instructed the Pentagon to break Washington’s voluntary moratorium on testing nuclear weapons “immediately.”
Trump said in a post on social media that the United States “has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” naming Russia as second and China “a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”
Heading into the talks, Trump and Xi were also expected to discuss other points of tension, including Taiwan and China’s support for Russia.
But Trump said that self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, was not discussed. He added that he and Xi did not bring up China buying Russian oil, which Moscow has used to help fund its war.
Prior to the meeting, Ukraine and its allies called on Trump to pressure Xi Jinping over China’s backing of Russia. The meeting came a week after Washington announced sanctions on two major Russian oil companies.
China is the single-largest buyer of Russian crude and has been a vital lifeline for Moscow’s energy industry amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grinding war in Ukraine.
