Trump and Xi hold first in-person meeting since 2019, easing trade tensions

# Trump and Xi hold first in-person meeting since 2019, easing trade tensions

*Event date: 2025-10-30*

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held face-to-face talks in South Korea on Thursday, their first in-person meeting since 2019, in a moment that appeared to ease some of the trade pressure between the world’s two largest economies.

According to CNA, Trump described the meeting as a “great success” and said there was “no roadblock from China” on the rare earths issue. He also said China had agreed to buy soybeans and other agricultural products from the United States. Xi, for his part, urged both sides to move quickly to complete follow-up work and produce “tangible results.” The meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

The talks mattered because rare earths and agricultural trade have both been central pressure points in the US-China relationship. CNA said China controls much of the world’s rare earth minerals and much of the processing know-how, giving Beijing leverage in negotiations. Trump said the issue had not become an obstacle in the discussion, while Xi called for concrete next steps.

The meeting also carried symbolic weight. It was the leaders’ first in-person encounter since Trump returned to the White House, and the first between them since 2019. That alone made the encounter one of the most closely watched diplomatic events at the summit. It suggested that despite months of tension and sharp rhetoric, the two governments are still prepared to use direct leader-to-leader talks to manage disputes rather than let them escalate unchecked.

CNA reported that the discussion included trade and resource issues that have repeatedly disrupted relations. Trump’s comments aboard Air Force One framed the outcome as a major win, while Xi’s public line emphasized implementation rather than rhetoric. The contrast reflected the different political uses each side made of the meeting: the US president highlighted the immediate political value of a deal, while the Chinese side stressed process and follow-through.

The broader significance is that the encounter offered both governments a channel for de-escalation at a time when tariffs and supply-chain vulnerabilities continue to shape policy in Washington and Beijing. Even if no sweeping agreement was announced, the fact that the two leaders were able to reach any shared understanding on soybeans and rare earths could help stabilize the relationship in the short term.

The summit setting also matters. Meetings on the sidelines of a multilateral gathering often allow leaders to test openings without formally committing to a broader summit result. In this case, the APEC venue gave Trump and Xi an opportunity to reset the tone of the relationship in public, while leaving detailed negotiations to officials afterward.

For now, the meeting appears to have reduced immediate tensions without resolving the deeper rivalry. But the language both leaders used suggested they saw value in keeping trade channels open and avoiding a fresh spiral of confrontation.