Busan/Beijing: US President Donald Trump has left South Korea following his highly anticipated talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but it remains unclear whether the two leaders reached any agreement.
The pair shook hands at the end of their meeting in Busan, marking the close of their first face-to-face encounter in six years. However, neither Washington nor Beijing has issued any statements or joint communiqués since the talks concluded.
The uncertainty follows weeks of diplomatic maneuvering aimed at cooling tensions that had flared over trade, technology restrictions, and tariffs. A fragile truce reached in May had scaled back retaliatory duties that had soared beyond 100% on both sides — but hostilities have since resurfaced, casting doubt on any lasting resolution.
Still, investor sentiment appeared buoyant ahead of the summit. Earlier Friday, China’s stock market hit its highest level in a decade, signaling optimism that the meeting might yield progress. The Shanghai Composite Index gained more than 2% over the past five days, touching 4,025.39 points in morning trading.
Global markets also posted gains this week as US and Chinese negotiators worked to ease economic frictions, raising hopes that the two sides could forge at least a partial trade deal.
Outcome of Landmark Meeting Still Unclear
As Trump departed South Korea for Washington, analysts said all eyes would now be on any official readout from either side — and whether the Busan talks marked a step toward stability or merely another pause in the world’s most consequential economic rivalry.
Earlier, both leaders exchanged warm remarks as their first face-to-face in six years got underway at an airbase in the coastal city of Busan, near the venue of an international summit.
Trump praised Xi as the “great leader of a great country” and said he thought the two “were going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time,” while the Chinese leader called it a “great pleasure” to see Trump again.
“We do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then … you and I at the helm of China-US relations should stay the right course,” Xi said, adding the two nations could “prosper together.”
Yet, moments before landing in Busan, Trump appeared to raise the stakes of the talks — announcing an end to a three-decade moratorium on US nuclear testing.
Trump said the US “has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” naming Russia as second and China “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,” he wrote.
Rocky Paths to Talks
Despite the warm optics in Busan, the summit’s fate hung in the balance just days earlier amid escalating frictions.
Beijing objected to a new US rule expanding the list of Chinese firms barred from accessing sensitive American technologies, calling it a breach of the spirit of their September trade talks in Madrid.
China retaliated with new port fees and expanded export controls on rare earths — moves that jolted Washington. Trump responded by threatening 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and fresh export controls on software, declaring there was “no reason” to meet Xi.
The eventual meeting was carefully choreographed by both sides. Initially set for an evening session a day earlier, officials decided to shift it to the next day at Busan’s airport, aligning with Trump’s departure and Xi’s arrival for a state visit — allowing more time for high-stakes diplomacy.
