Donald Trump called his meeting with Xi Jinping a “great success” and said that he would visit China in April next year.
Trump cuts fentanyl tariffs on China to 10% after ‘amazing meeting’ with Xi
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met face-to-face in Busan on Thursday for the first time since 2019. (AFP)
In the wake of an “amazing meeting” with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will reduce the fentanyl tariffs imposed on China from 20 percent to 10 percent. Trump had previously imposed a 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods over fentanyl as a way of stopping the movement of chemical ingredients for the drug into the United States.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump announced that he would lower the tariff to 10 percent, and claimed, “I believe he’s going to work very hard to stop the death that’s coming in, because they’re poisoning our youth.” Trump also referred to him as “a very good man”, during the press conference.
The two leaders met in Busan on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. Trump also said that the dispute between China and the United States had been “settled.”
As well, he said that the U.S.-China deal on the supply of critical rare earths is a one-year renewable deal. “All the rare earths has been settled and that’s for the world,” Trump told reporters, and added that it is to be re-negotiated every year.
Additionally, Trump stated that he and Xi agreed to “work together” to try to work on the matter of resolving the war in Ukraine. “Ukraine came up very strongly. We talked about it for a long time, and we both will work together to see if we can get something.”
Trump indicated that the Chinese President is going to help the US and work together on Ukraine.
Trump referred to his meeting with Xi Jinping as a “great success” and told reporters he would visit China in April 2026.
The US President clarified that he and Xi did not discuss Taiwan, saying it “never came up. That was not discussed, actually.”
As the leaders met in Busan on Thursday morning, they shook hands and shared smiles and posed for cameras. Trump then expressed confidence that they, without a doubt, were going to have a very successful meeting. He said that Xi is a “very tough negotiator”, which is “not good”.
“Under our joint guidance, China-US relations have remained stable on the whole. Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then,” he added.