US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping met in South Korea yesterday to discuss a variety of topics, with the primary focus being the ongoing trade and tariff escalations between their respective nations.
After a 90-minute discussion, the two leaders agreed to postpone certain export controls as part of a one-year trade truce. This agreement marks a significant cooling of the trade rhetoric between the two governments.
“On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the best, the meeting was a 12,” President Trump said, also describing the talks as “amazing.” He added, “We have not too many stumbling blocks. Every year we will review the deal, but I think the deal will go long beyond a year.”
The meeting also resulted in a resolution of a dispute over rare earths. Previously, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce had announced that government-approved licenses would be required before these vital materials could be exported by foreign companies. Following the talks, the Chinese commerce ministry confirmed that rare earth export controls would now be paused, although some earlier restrictions appear to remain.
Regarding chip restrictions, President Trump said the leaders had discussed semiconductors and that Nvidia would resume discussions with China about exporting chips. However, he clarified that the talks did not cover the most advanced microelectronics, including Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, suggesting that existing long-running chip restrictions may remain in place for the time being.
Reports had earlier indicated that the Trump administration was planning new curbs on products made with US software. However, these latest announcements suggest those plans are also on hold.
In addition, Trump had previously announced plans to lower a 20% tariff related to the export of fentanyl ingredients before the talks. He later confirmed to reporters that tariffs on Chinese imports would be reduced to 47% from 57%, due to the drop in fentanyl-related tariffs to 10%.
According to the Financial Times, the Chinese outlet People’s Daily quoted Xi Jinping saying in relation to the talks: “Both teams should refine and finalise the follow-up work as soon as possible, uphold and implement the consensus, and deliver tangible results.”
China’s commerce ministry also stated that it had agreed to “work with the US to properly resolve issues related to TikTok,” among other agreements.
However, concrete details on other tariff and trade changes remain limited. It is still unclear how many of these agreements will be fully implemented.
After a year marked by repeated escalation in trade dispute rhetoric, these face-to-face talks between the two leaders appear to have gone particularly well. While the lasting effects of this truce are yet to be seen—trade deals often take years to finalise—it certainly represents a positive step forward in relations between the United States and China.
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/on-a-scale-of-0-10-the-meeting-was-a-12-the-us-and-china-have-agreed-on-a-one-year-trade-truce-after-trumps-meeting-with-xi-jinping-although-nvidia-blackwell-wasnt-on-the-table/