President Donald Trump said he's made deals with China after meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, the final day of a trip to Asia that was an opportunity for the leaders of the world’s two largest economies to stabilize relations after months of turmoil over trade issues.
The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that the U.S. would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20% to 10%. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57% to 47%.
Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term combined with China’s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements had given the meeting newfound urgency.
Here's the latest:
Xi agreed to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually for next 3 years, Bessent says
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that as part of the deal President Trump struck with Xi, China will start by purchasing 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. between now and January.
“So you know, our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.”
China and the U.S. to pause tit-for-tat port fee measures for a year
China’s Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that the U.S. will pause its measures under its Section 301 investigation against China’s shipbuilding and maritime industries for one year.
It said China will pause its relevant countermeasures against the U.S. for a year in response after the U.S. suspensions take effect.
The U.S. imposed new port fees on Chinese-owned or -operated ships calling at American ports from Oct. 14 resulting from its Section 301 investigation, which it said found China’s practices in maritime and shipbuilding were “unreasonable” and a burden to American commerce.
Beijing, in response, slapped retaliatory port fees largely mirroring the U.S. fees on American vessels calling at Chinese ports that came into effect the same day.
Separately, China’s Commerce Ministry also said it will “properly” resolve TikTok related issues with the U.S.
China says it will suspend rare earth controls for one year
China has agreed to suspend its new export control restrictions on rare earth minerals for one year and study and refine them, the Commerce Ministry said.
In return, the U.S. will suspend for one year a rule that expanded its controls to all subsidiaries that are at least 50% owned by Chinese companies on an export control list.
The two moves in the U.S.-China trade war had alarmed companies globally.
The ministry statement didn’t mention rare earths by name, but said that China would suspend measures announced on Oct. 9, when the rare earth restrictions came out.
Xi calls for cooperation on AI and immigration
Xi, stressing that dialogue is better than confrontation, listed a range of issues where China and the U.S. could work together, including combating illegal immigration and telecom fraud, anti-money laundering efforts, artificial intelligence and infectious disease response.
He called for more dialogue and exchange on these potential areas of cooperation.
He also said the U.S. and China should have positive interactions on the global stage that demonstrate their responsibility as major powers to achieve positive results for their countries and the world.
He noted that China will host the APEC leaders meeting and the U.S., the Group of 20 summit, next year.
Trump says he’ll work with Xi on Ukraine war
“We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,” he said.
However, Trump suggested that “there’s not a lot more we can do.”
He said, “The sides are locked in, fighting, and sometimes you’ve got to let them fight, I guess.”
Trump said they did not discuss China’s purchase of Russian oil, which boosts Moscow’s economy during the conflict.
China and Nvidia will talk about chips, Trump says
The U.S. president said China will speak with Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia about purchasing their computer chips.
“We make great chips,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “Nvidia’s the leader.”
It wouldn’t include the next-generation Blackwell AI chip, “but a lot of the chips,” Trump said.
China calls on US to refrain from nuclear weapon tests
Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing that China hopes the U.S. will fulfill its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and honor its commitments to suspend nuclear tests.
His comment came in response to a social media post by Trump that suggested the U.S. might resume the tests.
Trump made the post minutes before the highly anticipated meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Trump says nuclear testing ‘will be announced’ but doesn’t offer any more details
The president, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, seemed to be conflating the testing of missiles that deliver a nuclear warhead and the testing of nuclear weapons.
Trump said that other countries “seem to all be nuclear testing” but when it comes to the U.S., “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing.”
The U.S. tests its missiles, as does China and Russia. But the U.S. has not done an explosion test on its nuclear warheads since 1992 and no country outside of North Korea has done those tests on their weapons since the 1990s.
“I see them testing and I say, well, if they’re going to test, I guess we have to test,” Trump said.
Trump was asked where the tests would occur and he said, “It’ll be announced. We have test sites.”
Trump says Taiwan wasn’t discussed
There was speculation ahead of the meeting that Xi would push Trump to reduce U.S. support for the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China views as part of its territory. But Trump said they didn’t talk about it.
“Taiwan never came up,” he said.
Asian markets are lower despite Trump comments on trade with China
Trump’s meeting with Xi appeared to draw an initially skeptical reaction from investors despite Trump’s upbeat comments to reporters afterward.
Chinese share prices fell back when markets reopened after their midday break Thursday.
Share prices retreated across the region, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 down 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sinking 0.7%.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7%.
U.S. futures and oil prices also declined.
Trump updates his travel plans
The president said he would go to China in April, and then Xi would visit the U.S. after that.
It’s the most specific he’s been about plans for next steps between the two leaders.