US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are meeting in South Korea on Thursday, marking their first face-to-face encounter since 2019. The leaders are seeking a truce in their high-stakes trade war.
Trump, on his way to South Korea, said that in this meeting, “a lot of problems are going to be solved”. He added, “We have been talking to them, we’re not just walking into the meeting cold… I think we’re going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry was more circumspect on the matter as it merely said that Xi and Trump would hold “in-depth” talks on “major issues.
Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that Beijing is willing to work together with Washington to “ensure this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations”.
Trump and Xi are meeting in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of 21 countries in Gyeongju.
Trump-Xi meeting today | Key points
- What to expect: US President Donald Trump indicated that he could lower the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods over the fentanyl crisis, and suggested that he was open to providing Beijing with access to Nvidia’s Blackwell AI processor as part of a trade deal. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump was considering slashing the 20 per cent tariff down to 10 per cent. Another important thing, with respect to the US farmers, is whether China will resume buying American soybeans, a move that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said had been agreed upon for a “substantial” quantity.
- What Trump said: Aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea, Trump told reporters, “I expect to be lowering that because I believe they’re going to help us with the fentanyl situation.” About Nvidia, he said that “we’ll be speaking about Blackwells”, describing the AI processor chip as “super duper”. He said the chip was years ahead of what was currently available from other countries. He predicted having a “great meeting” with Xi Jinping.
- Nvidia and China: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that his company has excluded China from its forecast and that its market share in the world’s second-largest economy has dropped to zero. “The president has licensed us to ship to China, but China has blocked us from being able to ship to China,” Huang said while speaking to reporters at an event in Washington. He added that Beijing has made it very clear that they don’t want Nvidia to be in their country at the moment.
- May or may not be on Taiwan: Trump and Xi’s meeting might result in a trade deal, but it will not bring a pause to the fierce economic, technological and strategic rivalry between the US and China. Trump, who has been boasting of his skills as a negotiator repeatedly, might be able to flaunt them with Xi as well, news agency AFP reported. If Xi brings up Taiwan as a surprise move, there’s reported speculation that Beijing might press on Trump to reduce Washington’s backing for the self-governed island. The US has recognised Beijing over Taipei as the sole legitimate Chinese power since 1979, even though Washington remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and main arms supplier. Trump told reporters, “I don’t know that we’ll even speak about Taiwan. I’m not sure. He may want to ask about it. There’s not that much to ask about. Taiwan is Taiwan.”