The North American president’s satisfaction upon returning from his first meeting with his Chinese counterpart in six years was visible. Speaking to journalists who accompanied him on the return trip aboard the presidential plane, Donald Trump described the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as “spectacular”, evaluating it “on a scale of zero to ten, with ten being the best, with a 12”, he said, quoted by the Financial Times. It went so well that Trump should officially visit China in 2026, while Xi is also expected to return the visit.
And, although superlatives are common in the way the North American head of state usually expresses himself, the council of the leaders of the two largest economies in the world – and which has been in fierce competition for several years – actually had results that the industry and the markets should receive with enthusiasm.
In the neutral territory of the city of Busan, South Korea, at the meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries, the two leaders reached an agreement for a one-year truce in the ongoing trade war, after weeks in which Trump and Xi only escalated the dispute. Among the most recent developments is China’s announcement at the beginning of the month of controls on the export of rare earths, an essential raw material for the technology, automotive and defense industries. The US, surprised by the Chinese announcement after months of cordial understanding, threatened to respond with a new customs duty of 100% on Chinese imports from November 1, which would add to the 30% tariff already in place.
“China’s development and rejuvenation are not incompatible with President Trump’s goal of “Making America Great Again”, with Beijing willing to “establish a solid foundation for relations between China and the US, and create a favorable environment for the development of the two nations”, said Xi, for his part. quoted by Reuters.
The results of the bilateral meeting
On Thursday, October 30 – and after prior negotiations between Chinese and American officials in Malaysia – Trump and Xi brought water to the boil. China agreed to take a one-year break from export controls on rare earths and semiconductors, which are essential to US industry. In parallel, and also for a year, the USA agreed to lift the brake on the sale of technological goods, as “any and all critical software”to subsidiaries of Chinese companies.
In the agricultural area, China will resume importing soybeans from North American producers, committing to acquire “tremendous” volumes, according to Trumpthis good food. And, when it comes to the sale of Nvidia chips to China, currently the target of controls, Trump only said that the topic of semiconductors was discussed, but not specifically about the Blackwell chip, with much greater processing capacity.
The new model was created by the North American technology company with the Chinese market in mind, where today (and after a period in which Trump prevented chip exports to China, suspension since revoked) you are only allowed to sell the H20 model.
Much more circumspect, Chinese officials officially certified the content of the agreements, with the Chinese Minister of Commerce confirming that, for a year, neither Beijing will control exports of rare earths, nor Washington will prevent the export of technological goods.
They also said that the US will suspend port fees applied to Chinese companies in the logistics and shipbuilding sectors, while Beijing will do the same to the fees it imposed in retaliation. They will also negotiate details regarding direct US control of TikTok’s activity in its territory, transaction already lined up in Madrid last September.
The post Rare earths here, fentanyl there: Trump and Xi reach agreement for a one-year truce in the trade war appeared first on Veritas News.
