6 points from Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi

BANGKOK (AFP) – US President Donald Trump said he held an “amazing” meeting Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and resulted in very important decisions. The first official Chinese comments on the meeting were less specific and indicated that no trade agreement had been reached.

Trump met with Xi on the sidelines of the Pacific Rim summit in South Korea, where the two leaders agreed to roll back some of their trade measures and work together to resolve others.

Read more: Trump reduces tariffs on China after meeting with Xi

The agenda of the meeting, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, did not appear to address some perennial problems such as tensions over the self-governing island of Taiwan.

But Trump said China had agreed to purchase large quantities of American agricultural products and ensure a steady supply of rare earth elements used in many industries. Here are some of the key takeaways from the meeting, based on comments from Trump and US and Chinese officials.

Undo definitions

Trump told reporters during his return to his country on Air Force One that he had agreed to reduce the 20% increase in customs duties imposed on China’s role in the production of fentanyl and the chemicals used in its manufacture, to 10%. China confirmed that it will raise average tariffs on Chinese goods to 47%, down from 57%.

The two sides agreed to continue working to eliminate illicit drug flows into the United States

Other tariff increases remain in place, but for now, the two sides have extended a truce on steeper tariff increases that began in May when Trump and Xi agreed to allow time to work on a framework to resolve trade tensions.

Sales of computer chips to China

Trump said he discussed US sales of computer chips to China. Trump and former President Joe Biden have imposed restrictions on access to more advanced chips such as those used in artificial intelligence.

He said China would talk to Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia about purchasing its computer chips.

Read more: Trump said the United States would share technology that would allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine

That won’t include a next-generation Blackwell AI chip, “but a lot of chips,” he said.

“We make great chips,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “NVIDIA is the leader.”

US soybeans and other agricultural exports

Trump said that the Chinese side is committed to purchasing a “tremendous amount” of American soybeans, sorghum and other agricultural products.

The Chinese side did not provide any details. Beijing targeted US agricultural exports shortly after Trump began announcing tariff increases following his return to the White House in January. Reductions in Chinese purchases of soybeans, beef and other products have hit American farmers hard.

“Farmers should go out immediately and buy more land and bigger tractors,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I would like to thank President Xi for this!”

There were no specific details about the purchase agreements.

No TikTok deal yet

Beijing said it would work with the Trump administration to resolve issues related to TikTok ownership.

“China will work with the United States to appropriately resolve issues related to TikTok,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said after Xi’s meeting with Trump.

Read more: China says it will work with the US to resolve TikTok issues after Trump and Xi meet

No details were provided about any progress towards ending the uncertainty over the fate of the popular video sharing platform in the United States. The Trump administration has been signaling that it may finally have reached an agreement with Beijing to keep TikTok running there.

Rare earths, port duties, and US energy sales

Trump told reporters that China had agreed not to tighten restrictions on exports of rare earth elements and the technology and equipment used to process them. Trump had previously threatened to impose a 100% import tax due to China’s restrictions on rare earth elements.

“This barrier has disappeared now,” he added. He said Beijing had agreed not to implement recently announced controls for a year that raised concerns about access to critical minerals used in several industries, including electric cars and aircraft.

Likewise, China and the United States have said they will not impose higher port fees on each other’s ships.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said China has agreed to start buying oil and gas from Alaska, adding that officials will meet to see “if this energy deal can be reached.”

China’s position on the meeting

Xi noted that negotiating teams from the two countries had reached a consensus, a possible reference to the talks held in Malaysia last weekend, according to a report on the meeting distributed by state media.

The Chinese leader said the teams should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to achieve tangible results that will provide “peace of mind” to China, the United States and the rest of the world.

Xi said the recent fluctuations in the relationship offer lessons for the United States and China. He added that the United States and China must conduct positive interactions on the global stage that demonstrate their responsibility as two major forces to achieve positive results for their countries and the world.

“Both sides must take into account the long-term perspective, focusing on the benefits of cooperation rather than falling into a vicious cycle of mutual revenge,” he said, according to the report.

Xi stressed that dialogue is better than confrontation, and listed a range of issues on which China and the United States could work together, including combating illegal immigration and telecommunications fraud, anti-money laundering efforts, artificial intelligence, and dealing with infectious diseases.

AP writers Josh Bock, Chris Megerian, Mark Schiefelbein and other AP journalists contributed.