Trump and Xi ease trade tensions

BeijingDonald Trump called his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, "incredible," a meeting that helped ease trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. The Chinese side was less forthcoming, but Xi Jinping stressed the need to avoid "the vicious cycle of mutual retaliation." There were smiles for the cameras and cordial greetings, but little concrete information on the points of an agreement that both sides expressed hope of finalizing soon. During their meeting this Thursday in South Korea, the leaders of the world's two largest economies sought to make their position clear. willingness to reduce trade tensions and finalize an agreement that will be sealed with a future visit by Trump to China in April 2026.

Trump has assured that there is a commitment for China to freeze restrictions on [unclear - possibly "trade" or "sales"] for one year. the import of rare earth elementsBeijing controls 90% of the processing of these minerals, which are essential for the development of the US military and technology industries. China has also reportedly agreed to lift its boycott of soybeans and other US agricultural products. In return, it has announced a reduction in tariffs imposed on Chinese imports of fentanyl, a powerful opioid used in medicine, from 20% to 10%. US tariffs on Chinese products would then be 47%. Chinese media simply stated that both sides had "reached an agreement."

So far, the negotiations have not included issues that initially worried the United States and the European Union, such as China's excess manufacturing capacity and the way it floods markets with its exports.

First meeting in six years

The first face-to-face meeting between the two presidents in Trump's second term took place in South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where 21 countries are meeting to advocate for free trade. After the meeting, held at a military base, Donald Trump left South Korea to participate in the summit, which the Chinese president will attend. He also did not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a possibility that had been considered during the trip. The North Korean leader heightened tensions by testing a surface-to-air cruise missile before Trump's arrival. Speaking from Air Force One, Donald Trump also said that they discussed the situation in Ukraine and that the United States is willing to work with China to end the conflict. According to Trump, the situation in Taiwan was also discussed during the nearly two-hour meeting. Beijing was expected to ask Trump for concessions on what they call the "rogue island" in exchange for Washington committing to halt the arms sales rampant under the Biden administration.

The Chip War

Regarding China's aspiration to have access to the purchase of chips manufactured in the United States, Trump has said that he has been part of the talks, but has not finalized any agreements and in any case has assured that there had been no negotiations about the Blackwell chip, Nvidia's most advanced. Regarding the agreement on the sale of TikTok, The terms of the agreement have not yet been finalized.

Before the meeting, both sides had warmed up the encounter with messages of hope for reaching consensus and mutual praise between the two leaders. The final result resembles more of a tactical agreement that avoids making concrete proposals in order to leave the door open for further negotiations.

The US president concluded an Asian tour on Thursday undertaken with the intention of rebuilding relations with his main partners in the region, Japan and South Korea, whom he had pressured with increased tariffs.

In Tokyo, Trump He was praised by the new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.Both leaders displayed great harmony and announced a "golden age" in relations between their countries. Takaichi even stated that he would defend awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Trump. The US president secured an agreement to purchase rare earth elements, which could reduce dependence on China, in addition to commitments from Japanese companies to invest in the United States. In South Korea, he was met with protests, but President Lee Jae-myung nevertheless reached an agreement to reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 15% and pledged to invest $350 billion in the United States. Of that amount, $150 billion will be allocated to shipbuilding. One of the agreements that may worry China is Trump's announcement that South Korea will be able to build a nuclear-powered submarine in Philadelphia.