Donald Trump has said he will have a “successful meeting” with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as the two men began highly anticipated trade talks in South Korea.
Speaking to the media at the start of their talks at Gimhae airbase in the port city of Busan on Thursday, Xi and Trump indicated that they were prepared to declare a truce on key issues including the threat of additional US tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing’s current restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals.
After shaking hands with Xi in front of their country’s flags, Trump said: “We’re going to have a very successful meeting.” But he added: “He’s tough negotiator – that’s not good,” before patting the Chinese leader on the back.
“We know each other well,” Trump continued. “We’ll have a great understanding … we’ve always had a great relationship.”
Likening the US-China relationship to an ocean-going vessel, Xi said the countries should “stay on the right course” and “be partners and friends”.
“The world is confronted by many tough problems … China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world.”
Both men ignored a question about Taiwan, amid concern in Taipei that Trump may be willing to make concessions to Xi over the self-governing democracy, which China has vowed to “reunify” with the mainland.
Moments later, as they and their delegations sat opposite each other at the negotiating table, Xi noted that he and Trump had not met for several years – their last summit was in 2019 – but had spoken on the phone and exchanged letters since Trump returned to the White House.
Xi said that he and Trump “don’t always see eye to eye with each other,” adding that it was “normal for world’s two biggest economies to have frictions now and then”.
He added: “A few days ago … our two economic and trade teams reached basic consensus on addressing our respective major concerns and made encouraging progress. I am ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China and the US.”
The optimism in Busan was in stark contrast to the recent exchanges of aggressive rhetoric over trade that had threatened to set the US and Chinese on an economic collision course, with potentially disastrous consequences for the global economy.
The trade war reignited this month after Beijing proposed to dramatically expand its curbs on exports of rare earth minerals, vital components in the manufacture of everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
In response, Trump vowed to retaliate with additional 100% tariffs on Chinese exports, and with other steps including potential curbs on exports to China that are made with US software.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said he expected Beijing to delay the threatened rare earth controls for a year and to restart significant purchases of US soya beans as part of a “substantial framework” to be agreed by Xi and Trump.
Ahead of the summit, China bought its first cargoes of US soya beans in several months, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Trump hinted this week he would reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for a commitment by Beijing to stem the flow of ingredients needed to make fentanyl, an opioid that is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the US.
Minutes before meeting Xi, Trump said in a social media post that he had ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing on a level with China and Russia. But he did not respond to a reporter’s question about the decision as he and Xi began their summit.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that specifically referenced Russia and China.
Xi will attend the Apec leaders’ summit, which begins in nearby Gyeongju on Friday, while Trump will reportedly return to Washington straight after his meeting with the Chinese leader.
