Tariffs on China lower: Trump and Xi close agreements in bilateral meeting

BUSAN, South Korea (EFE).— The Presidents of the United States, Donald Trump, and of China, Xi Jinping, They concluded their face to face today Thursday after almost two hours meeting at an air base in the South Korean city of Busanin search of an agreement that relaxes trade tensions between both powers.

Both leaders left the meeting together and exchanged a few last words before shaking hands, after which they entered their respective vehicles.

The Chinese president left the airport bound for the South Korean city of Gyeongju, headquarters of the summit Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC)while Trump remained at the base to depart for Washington aboard Air Force One.

The face to face between Trump and Xi, the first since the Republican returned to power, began after 11 local time in the Base Aérea de Gimhaein the port city of Busan.

At the beginning of the meeting, shaking hands in front of the television cameras, flanked by flags of both countries, Trump was convinced that they would have a “very successful meeting,” although he also joked that Xi “is a very tough negotiator, and that is not good.”

For his part, Xi Jinping also showed signs of cordiality and noted, at the start of the summit, that “it is normal for the world’s two main economies to have friction from time to time.”

Trump later announced agreements on soy and fentanyland said that, after an “incredible” day, on this last issue he had decided reduce tariffs on China by 10%.

It was learned that both leaders agreed to meet again in April. The meeting would be in China, it was said.

Until the closing of the edition, it was unknown if they reached any other agreement during the face to face meeting, which was the first time that both saw each other since the G20 held in Osaka (Japan) in 2019, during the American’s first term.

Both were expected to address a broad agenda that includes, in addition to tariffs, the future of TikTok in the United States and the situation in Taiwan, among other issues.

Just yesterday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung reaffirmed his “confidence” in relations between Taipei and Washington, just before the meeting in South Korea between Trump and Xi Jinping.

In statements collected by the CNA agency, the island’s foreign minister indicated that he was “closely following” the dialogue between the leaders of the two powers, and recalled that, in his recent meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae TakaichiTrump “underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

The head of Taiwanese diplomacy stressed that there is “close cooperation” with the United States in matters of security, economy, technology and culture, and noted that both parties maintain a “fluid” communication channel.

Regarding the statements of the Taiwanese president, William Lai, who last Wednesday called to oppose “more firmly” to “annexation, aggression and the promotion of ‘unification’ (with China)”, Lin denounced that Beijing “tries again and again to change the ‘status quo’, so Taiwan, naturally, must defend it.”

“What they call ‘promoting unification’ is, in reality, an attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait (…). We must continue to defend peace in the Strait and the security of Taiwan,” he stated.

Eric Chu, The outgoing president of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which advocates closer ties between Taipei and Beijing, expressed his hope that the meeting in South Korea “will have a positive effect on trade and geopolitical tensions between both powers” and “contribute even more to peace in the Strait.”

However, Chu insisted that being close to the United States “does not mean being subordinate to it” and that “the most important thing is to gradually resume dialogue and exchanges between the two sides” of the Strait, since depending totally on Washington “entails too many uncertainties and pressures.”

The future of Taiwan could have been among the topics discussed in the meeting held in South Korea between Xi and Trump, although the US president had already announced that, in principle, he would not discuss with his Chinese counterpart the situation on the island, governed autonomously since 1949 and considered by Beijing as an “inalienable part” of its territory.

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