President Donald Trump has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, holding private talks that stretched longer than planned.
The two leaders discussed a range of high-stakes issues, including tariffs, fentanyl precursor exports, rare earths, soybean trade, AI chip restrictions, and TikTok. Trump announced a 10% tariff cut, confirmed that China will resume major soybean purchases, and declared the rare earths dispute “settled.”
Trump said he had a “very nice conversation” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last night during dinner in what was their first meeting since Trump abruptly canceled trade talks last week over a Canadian anti-tariff ad.
Wrapping up his mid-air interview, Trump called the Xi summit “a great success” and “a great honor,” again praising the Chinese leader’s role.
This post is updated LIVE.
Trump told reporters he was “too busy” to meet Kim Jong Un on this trip, but left the door open: “I could come back.”
He added, “I had a great relationship with Kim Jong Un… I think if I didn’t get elected… you’d have had a war.”
Just hours before Trump landed in South Korea, North Korea test-fired surface-to-air cruise missiles, raising tensions across the peninsula.
This post is updated LIVE.
Speaking to reporters mid-flight, Trump said Ukraine “came up very strongly” during his talks with Xi Jinping, adding that the two leaders “talked about it for a long time” and agreed to try to “get something done” on the conflict.
Asked about Taiwan, Trump said flatly that:- “Taiwan never came up.”
He also renewed his push for the US to resume nuclear weapons testing, arguing that other nations are already doing so. “We’ve halted it many years ago… but with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” he said.
This post is updated LIVE.
Trump told reporters that he and Xi Jinping had “agreed to almost almost everything” during their private talks, though he admitted “not everything was discussed.” The White House has not yet released a full readout.
He confirmed that Nvidia’s chip sales to China came up, but said there was no breakthrough, adding the chips in question were not Blackwell, Nvidia’s most powerful AI line.
Trump then dropped a headline: Xi will visit the US, and Trump himself plans to visit China in April 2026.
Trump told reporters he’d rate the summit “12 outta 10”, calling it a “great success.” “They congratulated me on the tremendous success we’ve had,” he added, offering no specifics.
This post is updated LIVE.
We hear that Trump is now telling reporters that the long-running standoff over rare earths is now “settled”, though he declined to share specifics.
“All of the rare earth [issue] is settled, and that’s for the world… This was a worldwide situation and not just a US situation,” he said, referring to China’s monopoly on processing critical minerals and its recent export restrictions.
According to Trump, there’s now “no roadblock from China anymore.”
This post is updated LIVE.
Speaking from Air Force One, Trump confirmed that Washington and Beijing are “in agreement on many things” following his closed-door talks with Xi Jinping.
He announced that the US has cut tariffs tied to the fentanyl crackdown down to 10%, and that the move is effective immediately.
Trump also said China will begin large-scale soybean purchases again, a decision he welcomed: “Which I appreciated,” he added, nodding to the domestic political win.
This post is updated LIVE.
President Trump is now speaking to reporters from Air Force One, moments after leaving his high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping.
“It was an amazing meeting. He is a great leader,” Trump said. He added, “We have come to a conclusion on many important points and we will be handing them to you in a little while.”
No further details yet, but it sounds like announcements are coming. Standby.
China’s markets surged this morning as investors bet big on a breakthrough from the Trump-Xi meeting. The Shanghai Composite Index hit 4,025.39 points, its highest level in a decade, after gaining over 2% in just five days.
Back in the US, the mood’s more cautious. Dow futures slipped 95 points, or 0.2%, while S&P and Nasdaq 100 futures were also down slightly.
In the last full session, Cryptopolitan had reported that the Dow gave up early gains and closed down about 74 points, despite briefly touching a record high. The S&P 500 ended flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%.
This post is updated LIVE.
Trump and Xi have officially left Gimhae Airport. Xi’s motorcade is already on the move, headed to Gyeongju, where the APEC leaders’ summit kicks off tomorrow.
Trump, meanwhile, has boarded Air Force One and is flying out of South Korea, wrapping up his Asia tour. He attended side events yesterday but will skip the main summit entirely.
Neither leader has made any public comment about what was said behind closed doors. But when they do, you’ll be the first to know. Stay tuned
Cryptopolitan observed that the Trump-Xi meeting lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes, blowing past its original end time of 12:30pm. Trump and Xi were expected to leave by 12:45 local time, but they finished at 13:10.
Outside, reporters are back on the curb, watching Air Force One parked on the tarmac, engines off, ready for wheels up the moment Trump walks out.
This post is updated LIVE.
The bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi is over. No press, no leaks; just the two leaders and their top teams locked in behind closed doors for over an hour.
We’re chasing every line coming out of that room. Updates landing soon. Don’t go anywhere.
Outside Gimhae Airport, the streets are on lockdown. Dozens of South Korean police officers just intercepted a pro-US, anti-China YouTuber’s van blaring slogans through mounted loudspeakers.
The vehicle was halted near the intersection where Xi Jinping’s motorcade is expected to pass after the summit, and was quickly forced to retreat.
Inside, it was brief chaos. Trump and Xi’s appearance triggered a full crush of Chinese and American journalists, elbow-to-elbow with each side’s security teams. After just a few minutes, the press was booted.
This post is updated LIVE.
Xi Jinping ended his public comments by calling on both countries to step up as global heavyweights, saying China and the US can shoulder responsibilities together as the world faces rising instability.
The Chinese leader told Trump he wants to “get real things done,” not just for Washington and Beijing, but for the rest of the world watching closely.
With that, the press was ushered out. The private talks between Trump and Xi are now underway, behind a sealed door in Busan.
We’re tracking everything. Updates will be coming the moment they break. Don’t go anywhere.
Xi Jinping acknowledged Trump’s “very enthusiastic” involvement in several tense regional flashpoints, thanking him for his “great contribution” to the Gaza ceasefire deal recently concluded.
He also pointed to Trump’s visit to Malaysia, where he witnessed the signing of the Joint Declaration on peace along the Cambodia–Thailand border, crediting him with offering direct input into the agreement.
Xi said China is managing that same border dispute “in our own way,” and emphasized that both nations have been working to promote peace talks across other global hotspots.
This post is updated LIVE.
Speaking through an interpreter, Xi Jinping said he’s long believed China and the United States should be partners and friends.
“This is what history has taught us and what reality demands,” Xi told Trump, as the two leaders sat down in Busan.
Xi added he’s ready to keep working with Trump to create a “sound atmosphere” for both countries to grow and develop together.
This post is updated LIVE.
Before stepping into the bilateral meeting room, Trump told reporters he expects a “very successful meeting” with Xi Jinping, and said the two leaders have “always had a good relationship.”
Xi responded, saying it was “great to see” Trump again. This is their first in-person meeting since 2019, when they met at the G20 summit in Osaka.
Xi also said that he and Trump have held three phone calls and exchanged letters since Trump’s re-election. “It is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then,” Xi said, adding both countries should “stay the right course.”
This post is updated LIVE.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have officially come face-to-face in Busan, kicking off a meeting both sides hope could lead to the end of their long-running, stop-start trade war.
No details yet on what’s being said behind closed doors, but talks are expected to zero in on tariffs, market access, and a possible deal framework.
📡 We’re watching. Updates coming as soon as they do.
Chinese state media confirm that Xi Jinping has officially arrived in Busan, just minutes after Donald Trump’s helicopter touched down.
While today wraps up Trump’s five-day swing through Asia, Xi is just getting started, launching a three-day state visit to South Korea, his first since 2014, when he visited under former President Park Geun-hye.
Xi’s schedule includes a face-to-face with Trump, a speech at the APEC leaders summit, and multiple bilateral meetings as part of his South Korean state visit.
This post is updated LIVE.
A coordinated welcome group arranged by the Chinese embassy in South Korea has gathered outside Gimhae airport, where Chinese President Xi Jinping just arrived. Staff were seen distributing Chinese and Korean flags to individuals lining the roadside, waving in preparation for Xi’s motorcade.
Meanwhile, South Korean police are preparing for anti-China protests expected to flare up in Busan, with demonstrators already gathering near the meeting site.
Meanwhile, the Marine One has lifted off, carrying President Trump toward Gimhae International Airport in Busan, where he is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes, tightly timed encounter.
The meeting comes immediately after Xi’s arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Trump, who attended several APEC-related side events, will skip the main leaders’ summit kicking off tomorrow, heading out shortly after his bilateral with Xi wraps.
This post is updated LIVE.
In Gyeongju, Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung finalized a major bilateral agreement involving investment flows and tariff adjustments.
One notable point on the agenda was Seoul’s request to reprocess spent nuclear fuel for naval propulsion, a long-standing strategic ask from South Korea’s defense circles.
Trump also used the moment to bring North Korea back into the conversation. “I know you’re officially at war, but we will see what we can do to get that all straightened out,” he told Lee, signaling a possible return to dialogue with Kim Jong Un ahead of Xi Jinping’s arrival to Busan.
🕰️ Stay tuned. Updates dropping as they come.
Trump announced a tariff cut of 10%, from 57% down to 47% now, and China will resume large soybean purchases.
Rare earth dispute “settled,” according to Trump, though no details yet on what changed. No breakthrough on Nvidia AI chip sales, but Trump confirmed Blackwell chips weren’t involved.
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