A fragile truce: Inside Trump and Xi’s ‘amazing’ meeting in Busan
Trump called it “amazing”; Xi called it “a consensus”. But as the two leaders shook hands in Busan, their fragile agreements hinted at a truce built more on time than trust
US President Donald Trump hailed his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday as "amazing," "a great success," and even "a 12" on a scale of 10. Xi, on the other hand, called it a "consensus to resolve major trade issues".
But as the two leaders emerged from their hour-and-forty-minute meeting in Busan, South Korea, what they left behind looked less like a breakthrough and more like a fragile truce, a pause in a trade war whose deeper tensions remain unaddressed.
The summit, described by both sides as "hard-won," produced a flurry of verbal deals and mutual understandings spanning tariffs, rare earths, technology, and even fentanyl trade control. Beneath the optimistic rhetoric, however, the temporary nature of most commitments revealed just how tenuous this so-called reset might be.
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Easing the tariff war
The main issue of discussion was one that has long defined US-China relations under Trump: tariffs.
Washington agreed to reduce some duties on Chinese goods, cutting the so-called "fentanyl tariff" from 20% to 10%, effective immediately — a move lowering the overall tariff burden from 57% to 47%.
The US also extended the suspension of a 24% equitable tariff for another year and paused its Section 301 investigations into China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
In return, Beijing pledged to "adjust its countermeasures accordingly" and suspend retaliatory tariffs in the same sectors for one year.
China's commerce ministry described the results of these consultations as "hard-won," signalling the difficult internal balancing act behind the concessions.
Settling the rare earths dispute
The long-standing dispute over rare earth minerals, essential for advanced technologies, was another sticking point. Trump declared that the issue was now "settled" assuring that "there's no roadblock from China anymore".
China agreed to suspend, for one year, the export control measures it had imposed earlier this month, which had restricted the supply of key minerals to the US. "They're gonna keep those flowing," Trump quoted Xi as saying.
In exchange, Washington will suspend a rule that restricted trade with entities 50% owned by sanctioned companies, a "50% penetration rule" that had "exponentially increased the number of businesses" needing export licences. The rare earth arrangement, like many other agreements in Busan, will last a year, to be renegotiated annually.
Agricultural and energy deals
The two leaders wanted to empower economic ties through new purchasing commitments. Trump said China would buy "massive, tremendous amounts" of American agricultural products, particularly soybeans and sorghum, marking an expansion of trade that had already resumed prior to the meeting.
Energy was next on the list. China agreed to begin purchasing American oil and gas, including what Trump described as a "very large-scale transaction… concerning the purchase of oil and gas from the Great State of Alaska."
These deals, while significant in symbolic terms, were short on specifics, another indicator that both sides were more interested in signalling goodwill than locking in long-term economic cooperation.
Fentanyl and tech cooperation
The fentanyl crisis, a political flashpoint in the US, found its way into the trade talks. Trump used tariff reductions as leverage to push China on the issue, and Xi pledged to "work very hard to stop the flow" of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Trump said he expects to see "real action taken" by Beijing, while China expressed sympathy for US fentanyl victims and indicated its willingness to cooperate further, provided Washington "creates the necessary conditions".
This represents a renewed attempt to address a long-contentious issue that has domestic ramifications for both leaders: the opioid crisis for Trump, and reputational damage over chemical exports for Xi.
Technology, particularly access to high-end computer chips, featured prominently in Busan.
Trump announced that Beijing would hold discussions with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, with the US acting as a "referee" or "arbitrator."
These talks would not involve the Blackwell chip, Nvidia's most advanced AI processor. Instead, Beijing would gain general access to American chips, excluding the Blackwell line, a small but symbolically important concession in the broader tech rivalry.
Geopolitical discussions
Despite the focus on trade, the leaders also ventured into geopolitical territory.
"The war in Ukraine came up very strongly," Trump revealed, adding that the US and China agreed to "work together" to see if they could "get something done". He added, somewhat fatalistically, that sometimes "you've got to let them fight".
Trump, ever the showman, emerged with superlatives, "amazing," "great success," "12 out of 10", but beneath the performance was a leader eager to claim victory in a contest that remains far from over. Xi, by contrast, projected steadiness, emphasising partnership while protecting China's strategic interests.
Surprisingly, Taiwan, often the most sensitive topic in US-China relations, "never came up," Trump said. Both sides also avoided announcing a final decision on TikTok's US operations but pledged to "work together" to resolve the matter.
Xi identified other potential areas of cooperation, including tackling illegal immigration, cyber fraud, money laundering, and developing artificial intelligence. "The two countries should stay on the right course," Xi said, urging that the US and China "be partners and friends".
A pause, not a resolution
Both leaders confirmed future visits, underscoring their intent to keep the dialogue alive. Trump will visit China in April next year, while Xi is expected to visit the United States "sometime after that" — possibly in Florida, Palm Beach, or Washington DC.
Xi urged both teams to "refine and finalise follow-up work as soon as possible, maintain and implement the consensus" to "provide tangible results."
The Busan meeting may have calmed the waters, but it did not change the underlying current. The temporary suspensions, one-year deals, and verbal commitments paint a picture of two economic giants seeking to de-escalate without conceding ground.
Trump, ever the showman, emerged with superlatives, "amazing," "great success," "12 out of 10", but beneath the performance was a leader eager to claim victory in a contest that remains far from over. Xi, by contrast, projected steadiness, emphasising partnership while protecting China's strategic interests.
Ultimately, both leaders bought themselves time: Trump for domestic validation, Xi for economic stability. But as the dust settles over Busan, the question remains whether this fragile truce can withstand the pressures of rivalry that define the world's two largest economies.
For now, the rhetoric of friendship masks the reality of competition. The trade war, it seems, has not ended; it has merely paused for breath.
