By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Thursday in the port city of Busan, South Korea marked their first in-person meeting.
The talks are expected to cover key strategic, economic and geopolitical issues, setting the stage for possible de-escalation of bilateral tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
President Trump posted on Truth Social: “Very much looking forward to my meeting with President Xi of China. It will take place in a few hours! President DJT.”
He arrived in South Korea on Wednesday after a stop in Japan, part of an Asia tour focused on strengthening regional partnerships and addressing trade and defence issues.
The meeting with Xi follows renewed tensions over tariffs and technology controls, as well as China’s recent export restrictions on rare earth materials.
Trump revealed that he may speak to Xi about Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell chips.
“I think we may be talking about that with President Xi,” Trump said.
The statement caused an alarm in Washington as experts argued that the removal of export controls on advanced semiconductors would allow Beijing to close the technology gap on AI and hurt the American leadership.
Rush Doshi, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former National Security Council official under the Biden administration, wrote on X, “seems we are effectively going to dismantle the export control regime on AI chips just as Beijing builds out its regime on rare earth minerals and magnets.”
China and the US agreed to a “framework” of a trade deal on October 20 after talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and trade negotiator Li Chenggang in Malaysia.
According to Bessent, the agreement involved a ‘final deal’ on TikTok, China’s purchase of soybeans and the delay of export controls on rare earths for one year.
Li Chenggang termed the talks “candid and in-depth discussions” and said they covered topics such as export controls, tariffs.
US probe into Chinese shipbuilders and expansion of bilateral trade while revealing that the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with both sides reaffirmed the importance of bilateral ties days after the framework agreement,
Trump also announced trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia and framework deals with Thailand and Vietnam, which included commitments on critical minerals.
Media reported that US and Japan signed a critical minerals and rare earths agreement, as the two sides vowed to take bilateral ties into a “new golden age.”
