Aboard Air Force One / Seoul — President Donald Trump hailed a “12 out of 10” meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying the two agreed to a one-year package that trims some U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, pauses Beijing’s planned curbs on rare-earth exports, and restarts large-scale Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods. Several thorny issues — notably Taiwan and TikTok — were left untouched.
Trump told reporters the U.S. will cut its fentanyl-linked China tariff tier from 20% to 10%, lowering what he said is the overall duty burden on Chinese imports from 57% to 47%. In exchange, he said, Beijing pledged to “work very hard” to curb illicit fentanyl flows. China’s Ministry of Commerce, in its readout, confirmed a temporary suspension of rare-earth restrictions, a relief valve for global chip, EV and defense supply chains.
On commodities, Trump said Xi “authorized” immediate purchases of “massive amounts” of soybeans, sorghum and other farm products, casting the buys as part of an accord he expects to be renewed annually. He also claimed China would “begin the process” of purchasing U.S. energy and hinted at a potential oil and gas transaction tied to Alaska. He added that chips came up broadly — with China signaling interest in buying from U.S. firms including Nvidia — but said Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chips were not discussed.
What wasn’t settled:
- Taiwan did not come up, Trump said.
- TikTok saw no deal; Beijing said only that it seeks to “properly resolve” the issue.
- Trump said he and Xi discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine “for a long time” and would “work together to see if we can get that war finished,” while acknowledging China’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil.
Trump also insisted his pre-summit signal on resuming U.S. nuclear testing was not aimed at China, saying it concerned “others,” and floated interest in broader denuclearization talks involving Russia and, potentially, China.
Both sides framed the outcome as stabilizing. Beijing said it “looks forward to working with the United States” on implementation; Trump said the understanding “will go on for a long time” and announced reciprocal visits — his to China in April, followed by a Xi visit to the U.S. at a later date.
Big picture: The arrangement offers near-term tariff relief, supply-chain breathing room on rare earths, and a lifeline to U.S. farmers — while leaving core strategic disputes and tech controls for another day.
