For the first time since returning to the White House, Donald Trump met China’s president Xi Jinping face to face — and the outcome marks a tentative reset in one of the world’s most consequential relationships.
After a 90-minute meeting in South Korea, both sides announced a series of steps to ease trade tensions that have unsettled global markets for years. Trump said Washington would cut overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 57 percent to 47 percent, calling the talks “a great success”.
Speaking aboard Air Force One after the meeting, Trump told reporters: “We reduced it … We’ve already seen the action on fentanyl, and they’re taking very strong action. So reduced to 10 percent.” He appeared to be referring to a special tariff imposed earlier this year on imports linked to China’s flow of chemical ingredients for fentanyl.
Xi, meanwhile, said the two countries had reached “a consensus to resolve major trade issues” and described the outcome as “a reassuring pill” for both economies. According to a readout published by Xinhua News Agency, Xi said China and the United States had “promising prospects” for cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber fraud, money laundering and illegal migration.
“China and the United States can jointly demonstrate the responsibility befitting of major powers,” Xi said. “We can work together to accomplish practical and beneficial undertakings for both nations and for the world.”
Beijing’s commerce ministry later confirmed that China would suspend for a year certain export control measures it recently tightened on rare earth minerals and other critical materials used in high-tech manufacturing. In return, Washington will pause a rule targeting companies that are at least 50 percent owned by entities already on the US sanctions list.Related News
- The United States will also suspend its measures against China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries for one year — and Beijing will do the same for its own countermeasures.
“These consultation results were hard-won,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement. “China looks forward to working with the United States to implement them effectively.”
Analysts in Beijing say the tone of the meeting suggests a more pragmatic approach from both leaders. Henry Wang, a former adviser to China’s State Council, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Trump “has adopted a more pragmatic approach this term”.
“There have been several trade talks between the two leaders, and now we’re seeing that a framework and structure has been laid,” Wang said. “This is a good start and evidence that Washington is taking a more realistic stance.”
He added that Beijing may now be able to purchase advanced US computer chips — though not Nvidia’s top Blackwell model, a move that could signal a softening of American export restrictions. “The US has finally realised it is counterproductive to restrict China,” Wang said.
The agreement stops well short of a full trade deal, but it marks the most significant easing of tensions between Washington and Beijing in years. For two of the world’s biggest economies, it is also a reminder that cooperation however fragile still matters.
Source: Business Day
