BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 30: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan, marking their first in person encounter since Trump’s return to office in January. The high stakes talks are expected to focus on strategic, economic, and geopolitical issues, with the potential to reset ties between the world’s two largest economies.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump posted on Truth Social, saying, “Very much looking forward to my meeting with President Xi of China. It will take place in a few hours!”
Trump arrived in South Korea on Wednesday after a stop in Japan, as part of his Asia tour aimed at strengthening regional partnerships and addressing trade and defence concerns. The meeting with Xi follows renewed friction over tariffs, technology controls, and China’s export curbs on rare earth materials vital components in advanced manufacturing and electronics.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump hinted that the discussions could include Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell chips, saying, “I think we may be talking about that with President Xi.”
The comment raised concerns in Washington, where national security experts warned that relaxing export restrictions on advanced semiconductors could undermine US leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and enable Beijing to narrow its technology gap.
Rush Doshi, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former National Security Council official, cautioned on X (formerly Twitter):
“It 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.”
The Busan meeting comes just days after both sides agreed on a “framework” for a trade deal during discussions in Malaysia involving US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng alongside trade negotiator Li Chenggang.
According to Bessent, the framework includes provisions on TikTok, China’s purchase of US soybeans, and a one-year delay on export controls related to rare earth materials. Li described the talks as “candid and in depth”, confirming that both sides had reached a “preliminary consensus” on several trade issues, including tariffs and ongoing US investigations into Chinese shipbuilders.
Following the Malaysia talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone conversation reaffirming the importance of maintaining stable bilateral relations.
Trump’s first Asia tour in his second term also includes a series of trade and economic agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, as well as framework deals with Thailand and Vietnam focused on securing critical minerals and supply chains.
On October 27, the US and Japan signed a landmark critical minerals and rare earths agreement, vowing to usher bilateral relations into a “new golden age.”
As Trump and Xi meet in Busan, analysts see the dialogue as a potential turning point that could de-escalate tensions and shape the next phase of US-China economic and strategic engagement in Asia.