US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Both leaders said they remained committed to maintaining stable ties despite ongoing differences.
Speaking through a translator at the start of the meeting, Xi said, “President Trump, it is a great pleasure to meet you, and it feels very warm seeing you again because it’s been many years. Since your reelection, we have spoken on the phone three times, exchanged several letters, and stayed in close contact.”
"Under our joint guidance, China-US relations have remained stable on the whole. Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then," he added.
Xi also said that the Chinese and US trade teams have “reached a basic consensus” on key issues.
Trump said he and Xi would have "a very successful meeting" to address the ongoing trade dispute. The meeting took place at an air base in Busan. “He’s a very tough negotiator,” Trump said, adding that they had “a great understanding” and “a great relationship.” He said the two sides could “sign a trade deal today.”
The two leaders are expected to finalise a framework trade agreement that was negotiated over the weekend in Malaysia. Under the proposed arrangement, China would pause its rare earths licensing regime for at least a year and resume purchases of US soybeans, while the United States would reduce or remove several tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump said Washington may reduce the 20% tariff on Chinese exports linked to fentanyl precursor chemicals and cancel plans for a 100% tariff that had been scheduled for November 1. His administration is also expected to ease export controls on certain technologies and roll back levies on Chinese shipping operations.
Trump also said he was open to discussing Chinese access to Nvidia Corp.’s Blackwell AI processors and may end a probe into China’s compliance with trade commitments made during his first term.'
