President Trump met Thursday in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a high-stakes sit-down that was expected to focus on trade between the world’s two largest economies.
Between U.S. and Chinese delegates, Trump told reporters the two had “already agreed to a lot of things, and we’ll agree to some more right now,” though he did not elaborate. He had previously suggested the two would discuss Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips, as well as trade more broadly.
Xi told Trump that the two countries would not “always see eye to eye,” but argued that China’s development went “hand-in-hand with your vision to Make America Great Again.”
The meeting concluded after less than two hours. The two leaders emerged and appeared to have a cordial exchange before Xi got into a waiting car and Trump made his way toward Air Force One for the return flight to Washington.
Trump and Xi have spoken on the phone multiple times since Trump took office again in January, but Thursday marked their first in-person meeting since 2019.
Shortly before the two met, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had instructed the Defense Department to immediately begin testing U.S. nuclear weapons on an equal basis to China and Russia.
The president did not answer questions from reporters about soybean purchases, Taiwan or his shift on nuclear testing.
As White House officials sat across from Xi and Chinese officials, Trump also ignored a question about why he opted to resume the nuclear program less than an hour before the sit-down.
Trump has frequently spoken warmly about Xi and downplayed tensions between Washington and Beijing. But the two countries have slapped tariffs on the other’s imports, China has stopped buying soybeans from American farmers, and some foreign policy hawks have raised concerns about Xi’s relationship with other autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Thursday’s meeting was expected to focus heavily on trade negotiations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday negotiators for the two countries had established a framework of an agreement for the two leaders to sign off on and avoid higher tariffs.
Updated 12:25 a.m.
Source: The Hill
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