[Blog] By Shaktee Ramtohul: Meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping : New dawn or business as usual?

Meetings between President Trump and numerous world leaders in 2025 can be categorised as topsy-turvy. On the one hand, we get to witness bromances; however, these are followed thereafter by the imposition of new tariffs on “so-called allied countries” by the Trump administration. India and Canada have suffered the brunt of diplomatic frictions (with the United States. One will recall when President Trump brandished the tariff board at the White House in April 2025, which he termed “Liberation Day,” when reciprocal tariffs were imposed on practically every country around the world, even on one inhabited mostly by penguins (Heard and McDonald Islands near Antarctica!). It therefore raises serious questions about these policy decisions.

 Countries around the world have been engaging in a race against time to negotiate trade deals (separately) with the United States. The responses between the United States and China have been a series of tit-for-tat levies on trade. These two nations are giants in terms of gross domestic product, and hence their diplomatic relationships have been followed closely due to their impacts on the world economy and financial markets. It is fair to say that when the United States and China sneeze, the world catches a cold!

Suspension of export controls

To address trade tensions and other diplomatic matters, President Trump met with President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on 30 October 2025. Following the meeting, President Trump stated that outstanding group decisions were made, while President Xi Jinping stressed taking a long-term view and focusing on cooperation rather than falling into a vicious cycle of retaliation. Of note, China is a major exporter of rare earth minerals, which are used in smartphones, consumer electronics, cars, among others. Following President Trump’s retaliatory tariffs on China, the latter had tightened its grip on exports of these rare earth minerals. However, upon the recent meeting, China announced a suspension of export controls. This should allow rare earth minerals to (once again) flow smoothly to the United States.

China has emerged not as a junior partner, but as a formidable arbiter of global leverage and diplomatic recalibration.” 

President Trump encouraged China to buy US chips from Nvidia, (although it appears that this will exclude the latest Blackwell Chips), an area which was a cause of friction between the two nations. The United States imposes export controls on Nvidia’s sales of advanced chips to China on the grounds of national security. While there has not been any official statement regarding the chip’s deal, President Xi mentioned that the two countries would cooperate in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

Both presidents have agreed to a trade truce under which the United States will ease off tariffs, while Beijing will restart imports of soybeans from the US. During the trade war this year between the two countries, China had completely stopped the purchase of soybeans from the United States, which hurt US farmers. China has also agreed to intensify efforts to curb illegal fentanyl trafficking. Fentanyl, a highly addictive drug believed to be 50 times stronger than heroin, remains at the centre of the opioid crisis in the United States, contributing to thousands of deaths every year from overdoses. China was often pointed at by the United States as being a supplier of the precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of fentanyl.

Chinese perspective

President Xi Jinping’s statements are clear in that China does not seek to challenge or replace any other country but instead wishes to focus on its own business exceptionally well. He described China as being sufficiently capable of handling various types of risks and challenges. President Trump reported (as per his usual style) that the meeting was 12 out of ten and that there will be further meetings between the two leaders in the coming months. The meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping follows a South Asia tour by the Trump administration, which saw visits to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. The visits were marked by an impromptu dance by President Trump in Malaysia and several gifts presented to President Trump, namely a gold-leafed golf ball by the new Prime Minister of Japan and a replica of a historic golden crown by the President of South Korea. Gifts of friendship, or a way to avoid excessive tariffs?

The recent meetings, primarily between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, however, showed slightly different facets and outcomes from the Chinese perspective. China showed that it was not going to be bullied and that it could handle risks and challenges in an efficient manner. Of note, tariffs were paused without China doing much other than responding to the United States’ position. While the relationships between the two nations saw instances of cracks, namely with tariffs as an area of discord, the new deal can be categorised as a moment of consensus rather than concessions. China has emerged not as a junior partner, but as a formidable arbiter of global leverage and diplomatic recalibration.

By Shaktee Ramtohul, Chartered Accountant & Business Consultant