Xi Jinping and Donald Trump agreed on trade ceasefire and discussed Ukraine

Chairman of China Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump held their first face-to-face talks on October 30 after Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. The meeting took place at the South Korean air base Kimhae in Busan and lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes, according to Chinese television. The day before, Trump, as reported by the New York Post, mentioned during dinner with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung that he planned to have a three-hour meeting with Xi. The leaders previously met in 2019. Following the negotiations, Trump, who skipped the APEC summit and headed back home, told reporters that he would rate the talks a ‘tremendous’ 12 out of 10 and that a deal lasting a year would soon be signed. The US President intends to visit China in April 2026, while Xi may visit ‘soon’ in return, as reported by Reuters. Among the specific decisions announced was the reduction of tariffs from 20% to 10% on China, which were imposed by Trump in February due to the alleged insufficient fight against precursor drug shipments of fentanyl (Xi assured additional measures). The overall average tariff rate for China will now be 47% instead of 57%, according to Trump (it is 32% in the opposite direction, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics). Additionally, China’s purchases of American soybeans, which are essential for US farmers, will start ‘immediately,’ Trump assured. On the American side, the negotiating table included US Trade Representative Jameson Grier, Secretary of Commerce Howard Latnik, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wells, and US Ambassador to China David Perdue. On the Chinese side, members included one of the seven members of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee Cai Qi, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Shan, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu. Washington seems willing to relax semiconductor export controls, with Trump stating that ‘China will negotiate with Nvidia and others on chips.’ Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang actively lobbied for this decision and met with Trump in South Korea the day before. Huang believes it is the right strategy to ‘hook’ China on American technologies. Beijing, as stated by Trump, will allow ‘unimpeded’ rare earth exports for one year. In October, China announced additional control measures in this area after Trump threatened to impose additional 100% tariffs from November 1, which now seems to be off the table. Meanwhile, Trump made no mention of a deal on TikTok, the terms of which were supposed to be discussed at the meeting. Another topic of the negotiations was the potential resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. ‘We talked about Ukraine for a long time. We will work together to achieve some results. We agreed that the parties are at an impasse. And sometimes you have to let them fight, apparently. Madness. But he [Xi] will help us, and we will work together on Ukraine,’ Trump said. Chinese oil purchases, as well as the issue of Taiwan, were not touched upon. Before the negotiations, the leaders shook hands. Trump immediately described Xi as a ‘very good negotiator, and that’s not good,’ emphasizing their familiarity. Later, Trump referred to his counterpart as a ‘great leader of a great country.’ According to Xinhua agency, Xi stated that China and the USA can jointly achieve success and prosperity and that differences between them are a normal occurrence. ‘China’s development goes hand in hand with your desire to make America great again,’ Xi assured Trump, adding that the two countries should be partners and friends. The leader of China also believes that they should ensure the steady progress of the ‘gigantic ship’ of Sino-American relations. A comprehensive agreement between the US and China is unlikely in the near future, as stated by senior researcher Pavel Koshkin. The expert explained that due to the scale of the two economies, the leaders’ negotiations will always attract significant attention but do not guarantee quick results. Koshkin also suggested that the speed and effectiveness of trade negotiations could depend on the number of ‘associated’ issues, including the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis. However, in terms of trade, a crucial point for Trump could be at least a temporary resolution to the issue of rare earth resource supplies from China. Additionally, the expert reminded that one of the main topics remains the TikTok deal, the implementation of which is still uncertain.