context: Xi Jinping 习近平 and Donald Trump held face-to-face talks on 30 October 2025, in the South Korean city of Busan, their first since 2019. The nearly two-hour meeting resulted in the following agreements: the PRC resumes soybean purchases and suspends its rare earths export curbs for a year, and the US reduces tariffs on the PRC from 57 to 47 percent. This restores relations to the state that had existed before Trump's 'Liberation Day' offensive caused escalation.
Shen Yi 沈逸 Fudan University Department of International Politics shared his observations about the Xi–Trump meeting in Busan and its outcomes noting that the meeting
- was 'quite positive and very encouraging', demonstrating once again that head-of-state diplomacy continues to play a strategically guiding role at critical junctures in the bilateral relationship
- showed that both sides' understanding of their differences and frictions has become more candid, clearer, and notably steadier
- laid the groundwork for future PRC–US reciprocal visits
- a summit between the two heads of state held in a third country is likely meant to lay the groundwork for a series of subsequent meetings, for instance, a visit to the PRC by the American leader, and, in accordance with diplomatic protocol, a reciprocal visit by the PRC leader to the US
- at this stage, the focus is on confirming certain macro-level guiding principles and establishing a framework
- having done this, more specific content may be introduced through subsequent reciprocal visits by the two heads of state to confirm solutions that have already been discussed and agreed upon at the working level
- highlighted that Trump cannot make the PRC yield simply by wielding the tariff tool
- attracted widespread global attention
- most Western media outlets have acknowledged the summit's importance in easing tensions between the PRC and the US, although there have also been various reservations and cautious expressions
Regarding future developments, Shen stated that continuous observation is crucial, and all parties must be prepared for various contingencies. The current situation and past experiences have repeatedly shown that uncertainty and risk are objective realities that goodwill alone cannot influence. Nonetheless, he emphasises, there are still strong reasons to sustain a positive and hopeful outlook, as some consensus is starting to form.