Trump meets with Xi, declares immediate cut to tariffs

U.S.-China summit offers relief to both sides while high-stakes rivalry carries on

- JoshChin& Meridith Mcgraw

President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in six years with a temporary truce in the bruising trade fight between the two superpowers.

Their agreement lowers immediate tensions between the U.S. and China, which have been locked for months in a bitter struggle over trade and technology that has hurt both their economies.

The agreement includes a reduction in stiff U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for a pledge by China to crack down on the trade in the chemicals used to produce fentanyl.

China also promised to ease the exports of rare earths—minerals that Western manufacturers rely on to make a range of goods. And Beijing promised to buy “tremendous amounts of American soybeans,” said Trump.

While the detente provides relief to both sides, it does little to address the fundamental divergence between two superpowers whose economies are decoupling in many sectors and who are racing for supremacy in areas such as artificial intelligence.

In comments to reporters on his way back to the U.S. from South Korea, Trump was effusive about the meeting.

“Overall, I guess on the scale of from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” he said.

The actual numbers the two agreed on were more modest. The U.S. is cutting tariffs on China by 10%, Trump said, in exchange for a promise by China to take “very strong action” on chemicals used to produce fentanyl. After the reduction, U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will be 47%, said Trump.

China promised to ease some of the controls it imposed on exports of processed rare-earth minerals for one year. It dominates the production of the minerals, which are needed to make everything from smartphones to submarines. Its restrictions this year on rare-earth exports have badly hurt U.S. businesses.