US President Donald Trump has stated that his recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC summit in South Korea marks a significant step towards achieving lasting peace between the two nations. The leaders met for the first time in six years, where they discussed a series of economic measures aimed at resolving longstanding trade tensions.
The agreement reached during the summit includes the suspension of China’s rare-earth export controls for one year, in exchange for reciprocal reductions in US tariffs on Chinese goods. The US will lower tariffs on Chinese products from 57% to 4, while China will adjust its retaliatory measures. Trump praised the summit as a ‘great one for both countries’ and claimed it would lead to ‘everlasting peace and success,’ emphasizing the potential for a more stable relationship.
Trump’s comments follow years of trade tensions between the US and China, which began during his first term when he imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods. The new agreement includes a US pledge to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports and suspend investigations into Beijing’s maritime and logistics sectors. Additionally, the US has agreed to reduce fentanyl-related tariffs, while China is expected to resume purchases of US soybeans and other agricultural products that were previously paused during the trade standoff.