A high-stakes meeting concluded between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping on Thursday, wrapping up Trump’s five-day visit to Asia. After leaving South Korea, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he “thought it was an amazing meeting”.
As per the agreement between the two countries’ leaders, Trump said he had agreed to reduce tariffs on China to 47 per cent from 57 per cent in exchange for Beijing resuming purchases of US soybean, ensuring unhindered rare earth exports, and promising to crack down on the illicit trade of fentanyl.
This was Trump’s first face-to-face talk with Jinping since coming to power for the second term. The two leaders had last met in 2019.
The meeting in Busan, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, lasted nearly an hour and 40 minutes. Trump also said after the meeting that the US will cut tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl to 10 per cent from 20 per cent.
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Xi will work “very hard to stop the flow” of fentanyl, Trump added, and said the tariff was reduced “because I believe they are really taking strong action.”
On purchases of US soybean by China, Trump said they will purchase “tremendous amounts” of US soybeans and other farm products “starting immediately”.
A one-year agreement on rare earths has been reached which will be extended after a year, Trump added.
“They’re not going to impose the rare earth controls,” he said.
The US accuses China of exporting precursor chemicals to make fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of American overdose deaths. Beijing has been seeking the lifting of 20 per cent tariffs over fentanyl.
After details emerged of the trade agreement, global stocks traded on a mixed note, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipping from a 10-year high, while US soybean futures were weak. The major Asian and European futures also swung between gains and losses.
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