After months of escalating economic friction, the world’s two largest economies, under the umbrella of the Trump-Xi meeting, have signaled a possible de-escalation of trade tensions.
United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded their high-stakes meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday, October 30, 2025.
It was gathered that the Trump-Xi meeting, the first of its kind since 2019 resulted in concrete agreements on tariffs and crucial supply chain materials, a pivotal moment for global markets.
“A lot of finalization,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after departing Busan, South Korea, where he met Thursday with Xi for about an hour and 40 minutes, saying he would rate the “amazing” meeting a “12” on a scale from zero to 10.
While the two leaders did not ink a finalized agreement, Trump said that a deal could be signed “pretty soon” and that there were “not too many major stumbling blocks.”
Below are the main takeaways from the Trump-Xi meeting;
Fentanyl
Following the conclusion of the meeting, Trump said he has agreed to lower fentanyl tariffs on China to 10% from 20%, effective immediately. He said that would bring the total effective tariff rate on Chinese imports to 47% from 57%.
Trump said he trusts Xi will “work very hard” to stop the illicit flow of fentanyl precursors, the chemicals used to make the deadly opioid, from China to other countries. “I think you’re going to see a big difference,” he said.
“All of the rare earth has been settled, and that’s for the world,” he said. A White House official standing alongside Trump said that the president and Xi had come to “an understanding,” and that China is “not going to impose the rare earth controls that they proposed.”
Soybeans
Trump also added that China, which resumed purchases of U.S. soybeans ahead of the meeting after having boycotted them for months, has agreed to purchase “large, tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products.”
He revealed that China would buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. between now and January as part of an agreement to purchase 25 million metric tons annually for three years.
Ukraine
Trump has long vowed to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, but after facing resistance from Russia, he has turned to the Kremlin’s close partners for help: India and China.
The U.S. and China will “work together” on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said, adding, “Ukraine came up very strongly, we talked about it for a long time.”
“We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,” he said.
TikTok
However, Trump did not address the proposed TikTok deal between the U.S. and China after the meeting, but it appears that China approved it during Trump’s Asia trip.
Under a U.S. law that was passed last year based on national security concerns, the popular Chinese-owned app must sell its U.S. operations to a U.S. owner.
Earlier in the week, Bessent said a TikTok deal may be finalized during the meeting between Trump and Xi.
After the Trump-Xi meeting, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that the country agreed “to work with the US to properly resolve issues related to TikTok,” according to a translation.
