US President Donald Trump has announced that China has agreed on a one-year deal to supply rare earths, after its shock announcement that it was banning exports if there was any chance of the products having dual use for foreign militaries or some semiconductor sectors.
Speaking aboard Air Force One after meeting China’s Xi Jinping in Busan, Trump divulged that Xi said “they’re gonna keep those flowing.” He expected the one-year deal to be extended.
The flow of rare earths has been a key point of contention between the US and China. Beijing holds a monopoly over the processing of critical minerals, and tightened its grip over rare earth exports in recent weeks.
“All of the rare earth [issue] is settled, and that’s for the world… This was a worldwide situation and not just a US situation. There’s no roadblock at all on rare earths – that will hopefully disappear from our vocabulary for a little while.”
Donald Trump
Trump hailed his meeting with Xi, calling it a “great success.” Rating it a 12 out of 10, Trump said that the meeting was “amazing” with “an outstanding group of decisions made.” “We’ve come to a conclusion on many important points,” he said.
Also, Trump said that effective immediately, the US will reduce tariffs on all Chinese goods enacted earlier in response to the flow of chemical ingredients for fentanyl into the US.
Trump said that Xi was going to “work very hard to stop the flow” of precursor chemicals that the US said are being used to make fentanyl. The US had put a 20% tariff on Chinese products specifically to pressure Beijing over fentanyl. Today Trump said that he’s reduced it to 10%, lowering the overall tariff burden from 57% to 47%.
He added that the deal he struck to reduce tariffs on China involves Beijing in return resuming US soybean purchases, keeping rare earths exports flowing and cracking down on the illicit trade of fentanyl.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One about the leaders’ coming visits, saying, “I’ll be going to China in April and he’ll be coming here sometime after that, whether it’s in Florida, Palm Beach or Washington DC.”
Additionally, Trump noted that he has agreed to “work together” with Xi on Ukraine.
He stated that Taiwan never came up in the discussions with Xi. There were concerns ahead of today’s talks that the self-governed island would become a pawn in the highly-anticipated meeting between the two superpowers.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he was “too busy” to meet with North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un during this trip, but that he could “come back.”
“I had a great relationship with Kim Jong Un. I think if I didn’t get elected… He doesn’t like too many people other than me, I think you’d have had a war.”
Donald Trump
North Korea fired surface-to-air cruise missiles just hours before Trump landed in South Korea yesterday.
Consensus Reached On Major Issues In Trump-Xi Meeting
China’s state media published a readout on Xi Jinping’s comments during the meeting with Trump.
The Chinese leader said that both sides had reached a consensus to resolve “major trade issues.” He stated that the Chinese and US teams will be working on delivering outcomes that will serve as a “reassuring pill” for both countries’ economies.
He pointed out that both countries have “promising prospects” for cooperation in areas such as handling illegal immigrants, cyber fraud, money laundering and artificial intelligence, according to the readout on the Chinese News Agency.
“China and the United States can jointly demonstrate the responsibility befitting of major powers, working together to accomplish more significant, practical and beneficial undertakings for both nations and for the world.”
Xi Jinping
It also said after the leaders’ meeting that they agreed to strengthen cooperation in energy and trade. They also agreed to maintain communications.
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