Donald Trump and Xi Jinping hold meeting in South Korea amid hopes for trade deal – live updates | China
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping since 2019. The meeting comes amid hopes that the leaders of the US and China could hammer out a trade deal that would bring a truce in the blistering trade war between the world’s two largest economies which has roiled global markets and sent international supply chains into panic.
Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed. It is now down to Trump and Xi, who will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in South Korean today, to sign off on it.
The meeting is set to begin at 11am local time – in one hour – in Busan, a port city about 76km (47 miles) south of Gyeongju, the Apec summit’s main venue. News reports a few minutes ago said Xi had left Beijing for South Korea, citing Chinese state media.
High on the meeting’s agenda will be rare earths. China’s chokehold on the supply of the critical minerals – which are vital for US industries ranging from car making to military equipment – has been a powerful bargaining chip for Beijing.
China controls about 70% of the world’s rare earths mining and more than 90% of its processing capacity. This month, Beijing increased its restrictions on the export of rare earths and related technologies, citing national security concerns. Analysts noted that it came soon after the US expanded restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductor technology to China.
Also up for discussion will be the Ukraine war and China’s claim on Taiwan, although Trump said on Wednesday: “I don’t know that we’ll even speak about Taiwan.”
The meeting comes after Trump visited Malaysia, Japan and South Korea on his Asia tour, striking a series of deals on rare earths.
We will be closely following developments in Busan – stay with us.
Key events
Trump-Xi meeting begins – reports
Xi Jinping is now meeting Donald Trump in Busan, Reuters has cited Chinese state media as saying.
We’ll bring you confirmation as soon as we get it.
In the days leading up to the Trump-Xi meeting, American officials signalled that the US president did not intend to make good on a recent threat to impose an additional 100% import tax on Chinese goods.
Also that China had shown signs it is willing to relax its export controls on rare earths as well as revive buying soybeans from the US.
Trump went further aboard Air Force One on his way to South Korea, telling reporters he may reduce tariffs that he placed on China earlier this year related to its role in making fentanyl, the Associated Press reports.
“I expect to be lowering that because I believe that they’re going to help us with the fentanyl situation,” Trump said, later adding:
The relationship with China is very good.
At a dinner on Wednesday night with other Apec leaders, Trump was caught on a microphone saying the meeting with Xi would be “three, four hours” and he would then go home to Washington.
Trump orders immediate US nuclear testing
Donald Trump says he has told the US defence department to immediately begin nuclear testing on a par with Russia and China’s testing.
The US president posted on his Truth Social platform a short while ago in the lead-up to today’s talks with Xi Jinping that the US “has more nuclear weapons than any other country” and claimed he accomplished that during his first term, also saying:
Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.
Trump’s post also said:
Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.
Here’s our full report:
Pictures have dropped of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s plane arriving in Busan ahead of their talks.
Analysis: pressure is building on both leaders
Justin McCurry
Our reporter in Busan, Justin McCurry, has sent this analysis ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting:
Donald Trump has racked up several wins during his tour of Asia: including a deal with Japan to secure the mining and processing of rare earths and the conclusion of a trade agreement with South Korea that commits Seoul to significant investments in the US economy.
But it is the outcome of his imminent meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, that will determine whether his weeklong visit to the region has been a success.
Given the high stakes, pressure is building on both leaders to abandon the aggressive rhetoric of recent months and reach a deal that will benefit their interdependent economies and avoid unleashing chaos on the global economy.
The mood music in Busan – the venue for their talks on the sidelines of the Apec leaders’ summit that opens in nearby Gyeongju on Friday– was as bright as the sky in the South Korean port city on Thursday morning.
Trump has voiced optimism that a deal can be brokered that would ease Chinese restrictions on exports of rare-earth minerals vital to the US economy and see Beijing buy soybeans to help struggling US farmers. In return, Trump would drop threats to impose a 100% additional tariff on Chinese goods.
Beijing, meanwhile, is willing to work together for “positive results”, according to foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.
Trump also said this week that he expects to reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for a commitment by Beijing to curb the flow of precursor chemicals to make fentanyl, an opioid that has caused an epidemic of overdose deaths among Americans.
There are no guarantees, of course, that any trade agreement Trump and Xi reach today will hold for the duration, as their countries compete for economic and geopolitical dominance in what some analysts are calling a new cold war.
As Marine One touched down at Busan’s Gimhae international airport, few countries were following the progress of the Trump-Xi talks as keenly as Taiwan, a democratic, self-governing island that Beijing has vowed to “reunify” with the Chinese mainland.
Concern is growing in Taiwan that Trump could offer concessions over the island – which the US is compelled to provide with the means to defend itself – despite indications from Trump that he had no plans to raise Taiwan with Xi.
Xi Jinping has arrived in Busan, South Korea, ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump, according to Chinese state media.
What are rare earths and critical minerals?
Rare earths are at the centre of several deals cut by Trump on his Asia tour. But what are they?
Critical minerals are vital for the global economy and include nickel, manganese and cobalt. Rare earths are a specific, highly useful category of critical minerals that are used to make magnets essential for the auto, electronic and defence industries, as well as in renewable energy.
Securing reserves and production of rare earths has become a flashpoint in global diplomacy and trade.
Here are some of the latest images coming in from Busan amid the countdown to Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping
What is in the ‘framework’ deal already agreed?
On Monday the US and China agreed on a framework for a trade deal ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the agreement – forged on the sidelines of the Association of south-east Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Malaysia on Sunday – would remove the threat of the imposition of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports starting on 1 November and include “a final deal” on the sale of TikTok in the US.
Bessent said China said it would “delay” the export controls on minerals used in fighter jets, smartphones and electric vehicles for a year as part of the truce.
China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, said both sides had reached a “preliminary consensus” and would next go through their respective internal approval processes.
What is on the agenda for Trump-Xi meeting?
Amy Hawkins
Today’s talks will centre on tariffs as Donald Trump seeks to end the bruising trade war with Beijing, while Taiwan and Russia are also likely to be discussed.
“We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us,” Trump told reporters as he embarked on the trip. “I think we’ll have a good meeting.”
Here is more detail on what the pair are likely to talk about:
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping since 2019. The meeting comes amid hopes that the leaders of the US and China could hammer out a trade deal that would bring a truce in the blistering trade war between the world’s two largest economies which has roiled global markets and sent international supply chains into panic.
Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed. It is now down to Trump and Xi, who will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in South Korean today, to sign off on it.
The meeting is set to begin at 11am local time – in one hour – in Busan, a port city about 76km (47 miles) south of Gyeongju, the Apec summit’s main venue. News reports a few minutes ago said Xi had left Beijing for South Korea, citing Chinese state media.
High on the meeting’s agenda will be rare earths. China’s chokehold on the supply of the critical minerals – which are vital for US industries ranging from car making to military equipment – has been a powerful bargaining chip for Beijing.
China controls about 70% of the world’s rare earths mining and more than 90% of its processing capacity. This month, Beijing increased its restrictions on the export of rare earths and related technologies, citing national security concerns. Analysts noted that it came soon after the US expanded restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductor technology to China.
Also up for discussion will be the Ukraine war and China’s claim on Taiwan, although Trump said on Wednesday: “I don’t know that we’ll even speak about Taiwan.”
The meeting comes after Trump visited Malaysia, Japan and South Korea on his Asia tour, striking a series of deals on rare earths.
We will be closely following developments in Busan – stay with us.
