Trump-Xi meeting LIVE Updates: Xi says US, China should be friends; tariff, trade, TikTok deal up for discussion

“China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world. I look forward to exchanging views with you on questions important for two countries and world. Thank you,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said.

Quotes from Xi’s speech: “Mr. President [Trump], you care a lot about World Peace and you’re very enthusiastic about settling various regional hotspot issues. I appreciate your great contribution to the recent conclusion of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.”

“During your visit to Malaysia, you witnessed the signing of the Joint Declaration on peace along the Cambodia, Thailand border to which you had provided input. China’s been helping our own way.”

“Cambodia and Thailand properly settled their border disputes and we have also been promoting peace talks to resolve other hotspot issues. The world today is confronted with many tough problems.”

Trump and Xi’s remarks were open to media but now, the rest of the meeting is closed. Chatting with other leaders at a dinner last night, Trump was overheard saying it could last as long as four hours, NBC news reported.

Speaking during the meeting, Xi Jinping said, “Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for two leading economies of the world to have friction now and then.”

At the beginning of the crucial US-China meeting, Trump praised Xi as “distinguished and respected” and a “great leader of a great country.”

Xi Jinping said the US and China “should be partners and friends” as he met Trump in Busan on the sidelines of the regional summit in South Korea.

Trump and Xi shook hands as they stood in front of US and Chinese flags. They briefly greeted the press before going inside.

“We’re going to have a very successful meeting, I have no doubt,” Trump said. “But he’s a very tough negotiator, that’s no good,” he was quoted as saying.

Trump and Xi are meeting at a South Korean air force base adjacent to Gimhae International Airport in Busan.

US President Donald J trump posts, “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

US President Donald Trump has met Xi Jinping. The US President is now shaking hands with Xi before their highly anticipated bilateral meeting at the Gimhae Air Base.

This is their first face-to-face meeting of Trump’s second term. They are expected to agree to a framework for managing their economic ties.

“The Trump-Xi meeting is unlikely to result in the ‘grand bargain’ that some may hope for,” Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, was quoted by NBC News as saying.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to finalise a trade truce as they meet Thursday in South Korea. According to Bloomberg, initial signals indicate the leaders are readying a pact that could see a rollback of some tariffs, fees and export restrictions threatened or implemented in recent months.

“That includes a reduction in US duties linked to fentanyl, approval of the sale of TikTok’s US operations, soybean purchases and a deal to halt measures including China’s sweeping plan to require licenses for goods with even a trace amount of its rare earths,” the report added.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in the South Korean city of Busan. He will now attend a meeting with US President Donald Trump, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Trump also just arrived at Gimhae International Airport in Busan.

The trade war reignited this month after China proposed dramatically expanding curbs on exports of rare-earth minerals vital for high-tech applications, a sector China dominates.

Trump vowed to retaliate with additional 100% tariffs on Chinese exports, and with other steps including potential curbs on exports to China made with US software – moves that could have upended the global economy.

Taiwan’s foreign minister, when asked about Trump-Xi meeting, said, “we have confidence in the Taiwan-US relations”

The meeting, the first between the leaders since Trump returned to office in January, is due to begin at 11 am local time (0200 GMT) or (7:30 am IST) in the southern port city of Busan, capping off the U.S. president’s whirlwind trip around Asia.

US President Donald Trump has arrived at the Gimhae International Airport, where he will be meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping. Xi is expected to arrive soon.

“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!” Trump said in an all-caps post to social media while en route.

Xi Jinping has already left for the APEC meeting in South Korea, according to a report by the Global Times, at around 6:16 am. He is expected to land soon.

Ahead of meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump posts on TRUTH social media: “Very much looking forward to my meeting with President Xi of China. It will take place in a few hours! President DJT”

The US military struck another boat in the Pacific it claimed was trafficking drugs. As many as four people were killed in the attack, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.

Hegseth’s announcement on X came a day after US strikes killed over a dozen people on four boats in the eastern Pacific, and brings the total death toll from President Donald Trump’s controversial military anti-drug campaign to at least 62 people.

Trump also expressed hopes for a trade deal with China out of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which is scheduled for tomorrow.

“I think it’ll be a good deal for both,” Trump said. “That’s better than fighting and going through all sorts of problems.”

China’s state-owned COFCO bought three US soybean cargoes, two trade sources said, the country’s first purchases from this year’s US harvest, shortly before a summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

As the two nations battle over trade tariffs, the lack of Chinese buying has cost US farmers billions of dollars in lost sales, after they largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president.

China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson announces: “As agreed between China and the US, President Xi Jinping will meet with President Donald Trump in Busan, the ROK, on October 30 local time to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.”

A 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods over Beijing’s handling of the fentanyl issue has been in place since March.

During a press interaction at the White House last week, Trump said the first question he would ask the Chinese President would be about fentanyl.

“I’m meeting with President Xi… The first question I’m going to be asking him about is fentanyl. They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country,” Trump said earlier. Read full report here

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to discuss:

1. Rare earths: Tension roiled US-China trade relations since Beijing dramatically expanded curbs on exports of rare earths this month in response to a US hike in the number of firms barred from purchasing American technology.

2. Reports suggest that a potential interim deal between the US and China could involve partial tariff relief, and Chinese commitments to purchase US-made soybeans and Boeing aircraft.

3. Trump said on Wednesday that he expects to lower fentanyl-related tariffs on China. The announcement came ahead of a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.