Trump rates talks with Xi ‘12 out of 10’. What was the outcome of the meeting?

The moment finally arrived. After a wait of six long years, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met face-to-face today (October 30) in South Korea’s Busan.

The two leaders met for an hour and 40 minutes where they discussed trade between the world’s two largest economies. The US president offered a positive assessment of the meeting, saying they had reached a trade deal that could be signed soon – though he didn’t share any additional details.

Following their talks, when asked how he viewed the meeting, Trump described it as a “great success, rating it as a “12 out of 10”.

The talks between Trump and Xi were held in quite an unglamorous location — an airport building at Gimhae International Airport. In fact, one wouldn’t even know that the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies were present if it wasn’t for the heavy presence of security and television cameras.

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But what did Trump-Xi discuss at the meeting? What was the outcome of the meeting? We decode it and get you the answers.

Xi and Trump praise one another

One of the big highlights that could be seen at the meeting was the praise that both leaders were lavishing on one another. In fact, just as Trump met Xi at the airport, the US president said: “We’re going to have a very successful meeting, I have no doubt.”

He then added, “But he’s a very tough negotiator – that’s not good. We know each other well.”

Later, when Xi and Trump sat down for their talks, the American leader referred to his Chinese counterpart as “friend”. “It’s a great honour to be with a friend of mine, really, for a long time now,” Trump said as he sat across a table from Xi.

Trump further praised Xi as “distinguished and respected” and a “great leader of a great country.” “We will be having some discussions. I think we’ve already agreed to a lot of things, and we’ll agree to some more right now,” Trump said, referring to last weekend’s trade talks between top US and Chinese officials.

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Xi, in turn, also complimented Trump, saying it was a “great pleasure” for him to meet Trump again. “It feels very warm to see you again,” Xi said. “Since your re-election, we have spoken on the phone three times, exchanged several letters and stayed in close contact,” he said.

The Chinese president also acknowledged that frictions were present in the US-China ties, but said that it was normal to do so. “It is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then,” Xi said, adding that both countries should “stay the right course”.

Tariffs, rare earths and more…

Apart from the rhetoric, the Trump and Xi meeting also had some concrete results. He said that they had reached a trade deal that could be signed soon. When asked about it on Air Force One, Trump responded: “I think pretty soon, we have not too many major stumbling blocks.” He then declared, “We have a deal. Now, every year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time.”

According to Trump, a “tremendous amount” of American soybeans and other farm products will be purchased by China, starting immediately.

The purchase of soybean has been of particular importance to Trump. This is because China stopped buying US soybeans in May, leaving farmers across the country sitting on billions in unsold crops, and some questioning the policies of a president many of them voted for.

Following the meeting, the US president also announced that Washington will reduce tariffs on all Chinese goods enacted earlier in response to the flow of chemical ingredients for fentanyl into the US. He said the 20 per cent fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods will be reduced to 10 per cent, effective immediately.

On the issue of rare earths, which had become a major sticking point between the US and China, Trump stated that the issue had been resolved and that Beijing would be rolling back some of its export restrictions.

He noted that a one-year deal to supply rare earths had been agreed upon. “All the rare earths has been settled, and that’s for the world,” said Trump, adding that the deal was for a year and would be re-negotiated annually.

However, it is not immediately clear if all of Beijing’s restrictions on rare earths will be rolled back.

Future visits planned

After Trump and Xi concluded closed-door talks, the US president emerged from the room, announcing to reporters that he would be heading to China early next year.

“I’ll be going to China in April, and he’ll be coming here sometime after that, whether it’s in Florida, Palm Beach or Washington, DC,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.

He also rated the meeting as a 12 out of 10. “On the scale from 0 to 10 with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was 12,” he said.

Talking peace

At the outset of the meeting, Xi told Trump that China’s development and rejuvenation and Trump’s goal of ‘Making America Great Again’ are compatible, and the two nations can fully complement each other and achieve shared prosperity.

Xi also added that China and the US should be partners and friends – both a lesson from history and a necessity of the present. “I am willing to continue working with President Trump to lay a solid foundation for China-US relations and create a favourable environment for the development of both nations.”

Xi also acknowledged Trump’s peace-making efforts, saying he appreciated the American leader’s “great contribution to the recent conclusion of the Gaza ceasefire agreement” and that “China has been helping our own way” with Cambodia and Thailand to settle their border dispute.

Later, Trump revealed that the US and China would “work together” on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

“Ukraine came up very strongly, we talked about it for a long time,” Trump told reporters. “And we’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done.”

“We agreed that the sides are locked in,” he continued. “They’re fighting and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess.”

“But he’s going to help us and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump said of Xi.

No mention of Taiwan and TikTok

Before the meeting, many had speculated that Xi would push Trump on the matter of US support to Taiwan. However, it seems that the issue of the self-governed island wasn’t raised in the meeting.

“ Taiwan never came up,” said Trump to reporters. “It was not discussed, actually.”

Also, the issue of TikTok’s purchase in the US was also not brought up in the talks between Trump and Xi.

Trump’s nuclear testing diktat

What is very interesting about Trump and Xi’s meeting is that right before the talks, US President Trump ordered Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing on a level with China and Russia.

The timing of Trump’s move is significant. Firstly, it came right before the high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping, which some assumed was an indirect message that Trump was trying to deliver to his Chinese counterpart. Secondly, it comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, in defiance of Washington’s warnings.

“Because of other countries testing programmes, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

The American leader also noted that the country has more nuclear weapons than any other country, praising his own efforts to do “a complete update and renovation of existing weapons”. He added that “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years”.

Trump did not provide further details on the testing except that the “process will begin immediately”.

With inputs from agencies