Trump and Xi hold first talks in six years
Leaders meet in Busan to push trade deal and strengthen bilateral cooperation
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Busan on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit for their first face-to-face talks in six years, with both leaders signaling optimism about advancing a trade deal and broader cooperation. Speaking before entering bilateral talks, Trump said he expected a “very successful meeting” and called Xi “a very tough negotiator,” while Xi praised Trump’s peacemaking efforts and highlighted recent progress on regional issues, including a Gaza ceasefire and a Cambodia–Thailand peace pact.
Xi framed the meeting as a chance for the world’s two largest economies to shoulder shared responsibilities amid global challenges, acknowledging that frictions are normal given different national conditions but stressing the need to keep China–U.S. relations steady. He said trade teams had made “encouraging progress” after recent meetings, including talks in Malaysia, and described a foundation of “solid foundation, sound atmosphere” for further negotiation. Xi also said he believed China’s development could align with Trump’s vision for U.S. prosperity and called for building a durable foundation for bilateral ties.
Trump said delegations “already agreed to a lot of things” ahead of the leaders’ session and suggested further agreements could be reached during their meeting, including potentially finalizing a deal on U.S. ownership of TikTok. The leaders’ meeting lasted about 100 minutes; they emerged together, exchanged handshakes and brief remarks, and then departed separately. No official details of the meeting’s outcome were released immediately.
The summit in Busan followed two days of talks in Kuala Lumpur between China’s delegation, led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, and the U.S. team headed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said a “very substantial” framework had been reached for leaders to decide on trade and tariff issues. The encounter capped Trump’s three-nation Asia visit, which included stops in Malaysia and Japan where he met regional leaders and attended meetings with business and military audiences. Xi remained in South Korea to continue his state visit and participate in the APEC leaders’ meeting.
