President Trump and Chinese President Xi meet in South Korea
President Donald Trump concluded his five-day trip to Asia with a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he has reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping on soybean purchases, fentanyl precursors and rare earth exports, paving the way for a final trade deal to be signed “soon”, lasting at least a year and leading to immediate tariff reductions.
The president told reporters accompanying him on Air Force One that China would immediately begin purchasing “vast amounts” of soybeans and other agricultural products from the United States.
President Trump also said an agreement had been reached to block China’s proposed export restrictions on rare earth minerals. “That barrier is gone. Rare earths have no barrier at all,” he explained.
President Trump said “there aren’t too many major hurdles” regarding a formal trade deal. “We have an agreement. Every year from now on we will renegotiate the agreement. But I think this agreement will last for a long time. We will be negotiating it at the end of the year, well beyond a year.”
The general agreement came after Trump spoke with Xi for an hour and 40 minutes at the South Korean summit, where they were expected to iron out differences on soy, critical minerals and fentanyl and discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump and Xi emerged from their meeting at Gimhae Air Base smiling. As they left, the two leaders shook hands, and Mr. Trump tried to whisper something to Mr. Xi. None of them said anything to reporters as they got into their cars. The president revealed details of the meeting to reporters on his way back to Washington.
Xi agreed to work “very diligently” on curbing fentanyl precursors, Trump said after the meeting. “I think real action will be taken.”
As a result, President Trump announced that he would immediately cut the 20% tariffs on fentanyl in half. It will be reduced to 10% immediately. Various other tariffs remain in place, with rates ranging from 45% to 47% on some Chinese imports.
President Trump visited China in April, and President Xi said he would visit the United States at some point thereafter.
“I think it was a very friendly meeting. It was a good meeting for two very large, powerful countries. That’s the way we should deal with large, powerful countries,” Trump said.
“It is normal for two major countries to have friction from time to time.”
China is the world’s second largest economy and one of the United States’ largest trading partners. Countries have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat trade war since early February, when President Trump raised tariffs on China over fentanyl trafficking.
In a series of threats, President Trump announced he would impose 100% tariffs on imports from China in response to China’s boycott of U.S. soybeans and export restrictions on rare earth minerals used to make defense equipment, smartphones and electric vehicles. After the meeting in South Korea, the president said both were off.
Trade negotiators from both countries released a framework for a deal over the weekend, and the Trump administration indicated it would address several high-profile issues.
At the beginning of his meeting with President Trump, President Xi stated that this meeting had created the conditions for the two leaders to meet in South Korea.
“I have always believed that China’s development is closely related to your vision of making America great again. Our two countries can fully support each other’s success and prosperity,” Xi said. “Over the years, I have said many times in public that China and the United States should be partners and friends. This is what history has taught us and what reality demands.”
The Chinese leader made no mention of a trade war and said relations between the two countries had remained “overall stable” since the start of Trump’s second term.
“Given the different national circumstances of the two countries, it is normal for the two countries to not always see eye to eye, and for the two major countries to have friction from time to time,” Xi said through an interpreter.
Relationship between President Trump and XI
The last time the two leaders met before the Korea summit was in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid spread of the virus has disrupted the global economy and derailed relations between the two countries.
Then, in 2023, relations suffered another setback when a Chinese reconnaissance balloon was spotted over American airspace. Former President Joe Biden and Mr. Xi met multiple times, including in November 2024 after Mr. Trump won the presidential election.
Trump and Xi spoke by phone three times this year. Xi said they also exchanged letters.
In South Korea, Trump said Xi had been a friend for a “long time” and praised him as an “excellent and respected person.”
At the beginning of the meeting, President Trump said, “President Xi is a great leader of a great country, and I think we will continue to have a great relationship for a long time.”
“You care very much about world peace and are very keen on resolving various hotspots in the region,” Xi told Trump, later praising Trump’s “huge contribution” to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Mr. Xi was less complimentary about Mr. Trump’s involvement in other conflicts, saying he had “provided input” on the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. This is one of eight disputes that President Trump has said he has resolved.
“Today, the world is facing many difficult problems. China and the United States can jointly shoulder the responsibility of being major powers and work together to achieve greater and more concrete things for the benefit of both countries and the whole world,” Xi said.
North Korea’s illegal missile tests, China’s invasion of Tawian, and Russia’s invasion and occupation of eastern Ukraine are left unmentioned. In September, Xi appeared at a military parade in Beijing along with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladmir Putin.
Trump later told reporters that while Taiwan did not come up in his meeting with Xi, they did thoroughly discuss Ukraine. “He’s going to help us, and we’re going to work together on the Ukraine issue,” Trump said. “There’s nothing more we can do.”
The president had previously expressed interest in meeting with Kim during his trip to Asia, but told reporters upon his return that he ultimately did not have time.
“It’s been very busy,” he said. “If I did that, I think maybe it would have been disrespectful to the importance of this meeting. So, thinking about Kim Jong-un, I will come back. I will come back again.”
Contributor: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
