President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday, ahead of a high-stakes meeting to discuss escalating trade tensions and tariff issues between the two nations.
This marks the first time the two world leaders have met in person during Trump’s second term in office, which began in January.
It comes amid renewed tensions between the world’s two largest economies, following Beijing’s export controls on its rare earth elements, and Trump’s subsequent threats to slap 100% additional tariffs on the nation.
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Both nations have, however, walked back on these escalations over the past few days, with the U.S. halting its tariffs and China delaying its export controls, while resuming its purchase of American soybeans, ahead of this meeting between the two leaders on Thursday.
G2 Meeting In Session
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said, “The G2 will be convening shortly,” referring to the summit between the two largest economies in the world.
During the bilateral meeting, Trump referred to Xi as “a great leader of a great country,” saying the two had already agreed on several issues and would continue their discussions. He described their relationship as longstanding and predicted “a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.”
Xi responded warmly, noting it was their first in-person meeting since Trump's reelection but that they had “spoken on the phone three times” and “exchanged several letters.”
He linked China's growth to Trump's vision to “make America great again,” saying that the two countries could “help each other succeed and prosper together.” Xi said trade teams had recently reached “basic consensus” on key concerns, laying the groundwork for the summit.
Photo courtesy: miss.cabul / Shutterstock.com
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