Trump and Xi land in Busan for highly anticipated meeting over trade and tariffs
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 30: U.S. President Donald Trump exits Marine One as he prepares to attend a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea on October 30, 2025.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump arrived in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday ahead of a highly anticipated meeting to address trade and tariff concerns.
awaited meeting It will start at 11 am local time. (Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET) It will be the first time the two leaders meet face-to-face since Trump began his second term in January.
This high-stakes meeting comes as tensions between the world’s two largest economies have begun to boil this year. The latest escalation in tensions came this month as Beijing imposed export controls and Washington threatened to ban software-supported exports to China.
The US has in recent days shared details about the deals they hope to make with China, from restricting the flow of fentanyl into the US to TikTok’s separation from its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance. Tariffs, technology restrictions and rare earth elements are also on the discussion table.
Beijing has been more cautious about the possibility of a deal, but in a possible sign of thawing relations, China bought its first cargo of U.S. soybeans in as many months, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Xi heads to South Korea from Thursday to Saturday on his first official visit in 11 years. Attending the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting In Gyeongju.
Investors are cautiously watching headlines from Busan as the trade war between the US and China keeps investors on edge. Global markets rose at the beginning of the week, driven by growing optimism that the US and China could reach an agreement on trade.
