Trump and China’s Xi met in South Korea to try to roll back months of trade tensions

BUSAN South Korea AP President Donald Trump met face-to-face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday a chance for the leaders of the world s two largest economies to stabilize relations after months of turmoil over commerce issues Trump s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term combined with China s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements have given the meeting newfound urgency There is a mutual recognition that neither side wants to pitfall blowing up the world market in strategies that could jeopardize their own country s fortunes The meeting lasted a little over minutes with the two leaders shaking hands and Trump appearing to say something into Xi s ear just before the Chinese leader entered his own limousine Trump was shortly back aboard Air Force One to return to Washington Before the meeting Trump was optimistic We re going to have a very achieving meeting I have no doubt Trump explained adding that Xi is a very tough negotiator Trump explained they could possibly sign a deal coming out of the meeting and that they have a great understanding of each other When the two were seated Xi read prepared remarks that stressed a willingness to work together despite differences Given our different national conditions we do not unfailingly see eye to eye with each other he revealed through a translator It is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then There was a slight difference in translation as China s Xinhua News Agency informed Xi as telling Trump that having certain differences is inevitable Neither side provided an immediate readout on how the meeting went Finding techniques to reduce tensions The leaders met in Busan South Korea a port city about kilometers miles south from Gyeongju the main venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit In the days leading up to the meeting U S authorities signaled that Trump did not intend to make good on a latest threat to impose an additional import tax on Chinese goods and China demonstrated signs it was willing to relax its export controls on rare earths and also buy soybeans from America Authorities from both countries met earlier this week in Kuala Lumpur to lay the groundwork for their leaders Afterward China s top exchange negotiator Li Chenggang declared they had reached a preliminary consensus a comment affirmed by U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who stated there was a very productive framework Trump advised reporters while flying to South Korea aboard Air Force One that he may reduce tariffs that he placed on China earlier this year related to its role in making fentanyl I expect to be lowering that because I believe that they re going to help us with the fentanyl situation Trump mentioned later adding The relationship with China is very good Shortly before the meeting on Thursday Trump posted on Truth Social that the meeting would be the G a recognition of America and China s status as the world s biggest economies The Group of Seven and Group of are other forums of industrialized nations But while those summits often happen at luxury spaces this meeting took place in humbler surroundings Trump and Xi met in a small gray building with a blue roof on a military base adjacent to Busan s international airport The anticipated detente has given investors and businesses caught between the two nations a sense of relief The U S stock region has climbed on the hopes of a arrangement framework coming out of the meeting Pressure points remain for both US and China However cordial the rhetoric Trump and Xi remain on a foreseen collision syllabus as their countries vie to dominate manufacturing develop emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and shape world affairs such as the status of Russia s war in Ukraine Trump indicated that he did not plan to bring up issues such as the defense of Taiwan with Xi The proposed deal on the table fits the pattern we ve seen all year short-term stabilization dressed up as strategic progress declared Craig Singleton senior director of the China plan at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Both sides are managing volatility calibrating just enough cooperation to avert emergency while the deeper rivalry endures The U S and China have each shown they believe they have levers to pressure the other and the past year has demonstrated that tentative actions forward can be short-lived For Trump that pressure comes from tariffs Right now China had faced new tariffs this year totaling of which has been tied to its role in fentanyl production But the tariff rates have been volatile In April he disclosed plans to jack the rate on Chinese goods to only to abandon those plans as markets recoiled Then on Oct Trump threatened a import tax because of China s rare earth restrictions Xi has his own chokehold on the world financial market because China is the top producer and processor of the rare earth minerals needed to make fighter jets robots electric vehicles and other high-tech products China had tightened export restrictions on Oct repeating a cycle in which each nation jockeys for an edge only to back down after more pact talks What might also matter is what happens directly after their talks Trump plans to return to Washington while Xi plans to stay on in South Korea to meet with regional leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit which officially begins on Friday Xi sees an opportunity to position China as a reliable partner and bolster bilateral and multilateral relations with countries frustrated by the U S administration s tariff framework mentioned Jay Truesdale a former State Department official who is CEO of TD International a danger and intelligence advisory firm Boak broadcasted from Tokyo Source