Journalism of Courage
Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump that the two countries “will have a fantastic relationship for a long time” as the leaders met in South Korea on Thursday for high-stakes talks aimed at easing trade tensions, Reuters reported, citing China’s state news agency Xinhua.
Trump said he “could sign trade deal today” and that the leaders “have already agreed to a lot of things,” Reuters reported. The face-to-face talks, their first since Trump’s return to office, were held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Xi said that the two countries’ trade teams had reached “basic consensus on addressing our basic concerns.”
The meeting, held at a South Korean air base in the port city of Busan, was the first between the two leaders since Trump’s return to the White House in January. It followed months of escalating tariff threats and export curbs between Washington and Beijing.
Trump said he expected “a very successful meeting” and called Xi “a very tough negotiator,” according to Reuters and AP. He also said the two sides “could” sign a trade deal during the talks.
Both sides have signalled optimism about reaching a trade truce after months of tariff escalations. Beijing had recently proposed expanding export curbs on rare-earth minerals vital for high-tech products, while Trump vowed to impose additional 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters he expected China to delay the rare-earth controls for a year and resume purchases of American soybeans as part of a “substantial framework” agreement. China bought its first cargo of US soybeans in several months earlier this week, Reuters reported.
Trump also said he expected to lower tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s cooperation in curbing the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has fuelled an overdose crisis in the US. He added that he might finalise a deal with Xi on TikTok, the social media app facing a potential US ban unless its Chinese owners divest their American operations.
Previous trade arrangements that had reduced retaliatory tariffs to about 55 per cent on the US side and 10 per cent on the Chinese side, and resumed rare-earth shipments, are set to expire on November 10, according to Reuters.
AP reported that while the tone of the meeting was cordial, deep strategic tensions remain between the two powers. Analysts said both sides appear focused on short-term stability rather than resolving long-term rivalry.
“Both sides are managing volatility, calibrating just enough cooperation to avert crisis while the deeper rivalry endures,” said Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as quoted by AP.
Tensions over Taiwan also loom large. Chinese state media said H-6K bombers recently conducted “confrontation drills” near the island, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Taiwan “should not be concerned” about the talks.
(With inputs from agencies)
