Busan (South Korea) (AFP) – From a crippling trade conflict to the Ukraine war, here’s what Beijing and Washington say was achieved during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s first face-to-face talks in six years:
**Fentanyl, tariffs**
The fentanyl trade has long been a sore point: Washington accuses Beijing of turning a blind eye to exports of chemicals used to make the drug, a charge China denies. Trump hit China with a 20-percent levy early this year over fentanyl, but said it would be reduced to 10 percent after Xi agreed at their Busan summit to “work very hard to stop the flow” of the powerful opioid, which has killed thousands of Americans. The reduction would bring average US tariffs on China to 47 percent. Washington would also suspend for a year steeper “reciprocal” tariffs that targeted China, Beijing’s commerce ministry said, ahead of a trade truce set to expire next month. China will make corresponding adjustments.
**Hill of beans**
Beijing has retaliated against the US tariffs with levies on American agricultural products, including soybeans, hurting a key source of Trump’s political support: farmers. More than half of US soybean exports went to China last year, but Beijing halted all orders as the trade dispute deepened. Trump said China had now agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans and other farm products. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of the crop “during this season”.
**Rare earths, ships**
A strategic field dominated by China that is essential for manufacturing in defense, automobiles, and consumer electronics, rare earths were expected to occupy a central role in the Busan talks. Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on the materials and related technology this month. Trump swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of 100 percent on all Chinese goods, which he threatened would start this weekend. But the US leader insisted Thursday that “that whole situation, that roadblock is gone now”. China’s commerce ministry confirmed the rare earths restrictions had been suspended “for one year”. Washington in turn agreed to suspend for one year a move imposing “Entity List” export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they had at least a 50 percent stake, a Chinese spokesperson said. The United States also agreed to halt for a year measures targeting China’s shipbuilding industry that led to both sides applying port fees against each other’s ships, they said. China would suspend its “countermeasures” after the US action, they added, for one year too.
**Ukraine**
Trump said the United States and China agreed to cooperate more on seeking an end to war in Ukraine. China says it is a neutral party, but Kyiv and Western governments have long accused Beijing of providing political and economic support to Moscow. Trump told reporters the subject came up “very strongly” during his talks with Xi. “He’s going to help us, and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump said.
**Chips**
Beijing has ramped up its chip industry to beat Washington’s export restrictions on the critical component used to power artificial intelligence systems. US chip giant Nvidia has been caught in the geopolitical tussle. Nvidia’s chips are currently not sold in China due to a combination of Beijing government bans, US national security concerns, and ongoing trade tensions. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has urged the United States to allow the sale of US-made AI chips in China to ensure Silicon Valley companies remain a global powerhouse in AI development. “We did discuss chips,” Trump said, adding that Huang would speak to Beijing about the dispute. “We’re sort of the arbitrator or the referee.”
**TikTok**
The talks failed to result in a final deal for TikTok’s US operations to be transferred to American ownership, despite Bessent saying beforehand that Xi and Trump may “consummate” an agreement in Busan. Washington has sought to wrest the popular social media app’s US operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance, citing national security concerns.
© 2024 AFP
