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Stock markets wobbled Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has shaken global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.But the frenzy on stock markets that led to new records in the run-up to the meeting and earnings reports by tech giants faded.Asia markets ended mostly lower, while in Europe both Frankfurt and London ended the day flat after wobbling in afternoon trading. On Wall Street, the Dow rose but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both lower in early afternoon trading. “Doubts over the possible returns on investments planned for artificial general intelligence, the Fed’s ‘hawkish’ rate cut and President Trump’s underwhelming trade deal with China have done little to boost sentiment,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.Big US tech companies were in focus again Thursday, with investors reacting to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft released after Wall Street closed on Wednesday.Shares in Meta dove around 10 percent after third-quarter profits missed analysts’ expectations.Profits sank 83 percent to $2.7 billion following a roughly $16-billion hit from a one-time accounting shift due to a US fiscal overhaul legislation favoured by President Donald Trump. Microsoft shares shed 2.7 percent and shares in Google-parent Alphabet rose 4.6 percent.Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results but questions arose about the pace of AI monetisation.”These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams, “the effect on share prices could be brutal.”However Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said that “unless there’s a significant negative surprise from the remaining tech giants yet to report, equities could well have further room to climb.”Amazon and Apple report after US markets close on Thursday.Shares in Nvidia gave up 1.6 percent a day after it became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value. The company reports results of its third quarter, which ended this week, on November 19.Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32-percent rise in on-year profits for the third quarter, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan also held interest rates steady on Thursday, sending the yen higher, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank over eight percent despite rising sales as the group said it expected to incur charges in the second half of the year.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 47,856.70 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,868.95New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 23,758.70London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,760.06 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,157.29 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,118.89 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1566 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3146 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 154.11 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.99 from 87.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at $64.29 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP less than 0.1 percent at $60.53 per barrelburs-rl/rlp

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 defence, 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.aue-oho-mya-bys/des

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD said on Thursday its third-quarter profit had slumped by 33 percent year-on-year, with sluggish domestic consumption piling pressure on the carmaker as it looks to expand overseas.BYD — which adopts the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has emerged in recent years as the clear leader in China’s highly competitive EV market, which is the largest in the world.The carmaker said its net profit for the third quarter was 7.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), a decrease of 32.6 percent compared to the same period last year and its second consecutive quarterly decline. The Shenzhen-based firm recorded revenue of 195 billion yuan over the same period, a slight decrease of 3 percent year-on-year.China’s EV industry is world-leading but a cutthroat domestic market has weighed on companies’ profitability, with many including BYD turning to overseas markets in response. Scrutiny of the EV market is also growing, with a top industry group in May rebuking Chinese automakers for fuelling a price war, a week after BYD announced sweeping trade-in discounts. However, BYD’s overseas bid appears to be gathering pace. In September, it sold more than 13,000 units in European Union countries, a year-on-year increase of 272.1 percent, according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).The recent slowdown comes after a period of sustained, intense growth, and its profit in the first quarter was a record for the company in that reporting period. In 2024, its annual revenue surpassed that of its American rival Tesla, and crossed the symbolic $100 billion mark.

One of the last independent media outlets in Macau will close operations in December, the platform said on Thursday, citing “increasing pressure and risks”.The All About Macau Media (AAMacau) news platform, co-founded by late journalist Ng Sio Ngai more than a decade ago, has often been critical of social issues in the Chinese city.AAMacau, whose Chinese-language name means “discuss as much as possible”, runs digital and print platforms and also has a social media presence.The outlet said this month’s print edition would be its last, with the rest of its operation to end in December.It said it had been told by Macau officials that it “no longer meets the statutory requirements to engage in relevant activities” under the Chinese special administrative region’s media law and that its monthly publication registration number has been revoked.”Facing resource constraints, mounting external pressures, and the need for our reporters to navigate judicial proceedings, the team found it increasingly difficult to maintain reporting standards,” AAMacau said.It said it “had no choice but to make this difficult decision”.In April, two AAMacau reporters were detained by police while covering an event in the city’s legislature, which it said was the first case of its kind in Macau.It said on Thursday that three of its journalists could face criminal charges over the incident.The city’s Government Information Bureau has not yet responded to an AFP request for comment.- ‘Swift deterioration’ -Macau, which has its own legal system largely based on Portuguese law, enacted national security legislation in 2009 and widened its powers in 2023.The Committee to Protect Journalists said the closure of AAMacau is “a blow to press freedom and a highly troubling development”.It “marks a swift deterioration” in Macau’s media environment, the advocacy group told AFP.Began as a weekly feature in a local newspaper in 2010, AAMacau established its website about two years later, followed by the first monthly magazine printed in May 2013.In recent years, the outlet has transitioned into a subscription and donation-based funding model.AAMacau said its decision came about a year after it started facing restrictions in accessing government events.Political scientist and veteran journalist Eric Sautede called the outlet’s closure an “absolute loss”.He said AAMacau had “helped foster a measure of accountability among those in power — both in government and in the private sector”.

Stock markets mostly retreated Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.But stock markets turned mostly lower after having hit new records in the run-up to the meeting and earnings reports by tech giants. “Doubts over the possible returns on investments planned for artificial general intelligence, the Fed’s ‘hawkish’ rate cut and President Trump’s underwhelming trade deal with China have done little to boost sentiment,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.US big tech companies were in focus again Thursday, following a mixed reaction to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft after Wall Street closed on Wednesday.Shares in Meta dove around 12 percent as trading got underway, while Microsoft shed 2.2 percent.Shares in Google-parent Alphabet rose 2.6 percent.”These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams, “the effect on share prices could be brutal.”Shares in Nvidia gave up 2.3 percent a day after becoming the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year profits for the third quarter, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan also held interest rates steady on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.Advertising giant WPP led losses in London, dropping more than 17 percent after it cut its annual outlook.Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank over 10 percent despite rising sales as the group said it expects to incur charges in the second half of the year.Volkswagen shares fell nearly two percent after its first quarterly loss for five years, topping one billion euros.Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, owner of treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, saw its shares fall more than four percent after it launched a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for obesity treatment maker Metsera.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 47,450.07New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,850.87New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 23,764.12London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,701.29 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,135.14Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 24,083.79Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1571 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3139 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 154.33 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.07 from 87.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $63.64 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $59.81 per barrel

Struggling Japanese carmaker Nissan said it expected to suffer an operating loss of 275 billion ($1.8 billion) in its fiscal year that ends in March as it faces further economic headwinds.It also said it expected an operating loss of 30 billion yen for the first six months of the fiscal year, which runs through September.Nissan reported a net loss of 671 billion yen for the financial year to March 2025, and launched an effort cut 20,000 jobs, some 15 percent of its workforce.The first-half operating loss of 30 billion yen is better than the automaker had been forecasting. Nissan attributed it to one-time benefits including lower costs to emission regulations. It said it had also deferred some project costs to the second half of the year.”While our first-half results reflect temporary benefits and payback from cost-saving initiatives, we anticipate ongoing challenging competitive environment in the second half, supply chain risks and the seasonality of business,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin.The expected worsening of its performance in the second half of its fiscal year reflected “anticipated challenges in the second half due to supply chain risks, foreign exchange volatility, tariffs, and other external factors,” the automaker said in a statement.It said it now expected sales of 11.7 trillion yen in 2025-2026, down from its initial estimate in May of 12.5 trillion yen.Nissan has faced numerous speed bumps in recent years — including the 2018 arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn, who later fled Japan concealed in an audio equipment box.A merger with Japanese rival Honda had been seen as a potential lifeline but talks collapsed in February when the latter proposed making Nissan a subsidiary.Of Japan’s major automakers, Nissan was seen by analysts as likely to be the most severely hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported vehicles. 

Stock markets fell Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.Stock market reactions were subdued, with Asian and European markets lower on Thursday. “Looking ahead, the main events today will be Apple and Amazon earnings, along with the ECB’s policy decision,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.The European Central Bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.US big tech companies were in focus again Thursday, following a mixed reaction to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft after the Wall Street close.”These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams “the effect on share prices could be brutal.”Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year third quarter profits, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.In London, shares in energy giant Shell were flat after its net profit jumped in the third quarter. Advertising giant WPP led losses in London, dropping nearly 14 percent after it cut its annual outlook.Volkswagen shares fell more than one percent after its first quarterly loss for five years, topping one billion euros.Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank six percent despite rising sales as the group said it expects to incur charges in the second half of the year.Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, owner of treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, saw its shares fall three percent after it launched a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for obesity treatment maker Metsera.- Key figures at around 1145 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,700.08 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,134.32Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 24,084.19Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1601 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3176 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 154.04 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.06 from 87.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.97 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $60.16 per barrel

A rare meeting between leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has succeeded in temporarily stabilising US-China relations, analysts said on Thursday, with the talks drawing cautious optimism on the streets of Beijing.A beaming Trump hailed the talks as a “great success”, while Xi said China had reached a “consensus” with the United States on trade and economic issues. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a blistering trade war, encompassing everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, which has rocked markets for months.”Although there hasn’t been a complete agreement, at least in the short term, there’s been a suspension of tariff increases,” 35-year-old media worker Yan told AFP outside a shopping mall in China’s capital. Dylan Loh from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University said the meeting was “significant” because it tackled a range of both longstanding and newly emerged roadblocks in the trade relationship.”The conciliatory words used by both leaders are important, as they signal that there is room to steer the relationship back toward a more normal footing,” Loh told AFP.Both sides appear to have moved on key sticking points.A decision by China to suspend certain export restrictions on rare earths “did a lot of magic”, and Washington easing fentanyl-related tariffs “helps plenty too”, said Lim Tai Wei, professor and East Asia expert at Japan’s Soka University.Xi’s language with Trump struck a “notably constructive” tone, said Yue Su of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).”While structural competition remains evident… both leaders appear willing to find common ground and stabilise the relationship,” Su told AFP.- Long-term concerns? -Beijing residents told AFP on Thursday they hoped to see a knock-on effect from the talks.Gym owner Ma Ning said she thought the meeting improved “very tense” relations between the two countries.”Good relations between the two sides are good for China,” the 30-year-old said, adding she hoped the meeting would improve China’s “sluggish economy”.Media worker Yan hoped to see the price of regular goods go down after the tariff reductions.But he worried Trump’s “unstable” personality might undermine longer-term solutions.While the outcomes from Thursday’s meeting were positive, analysts said there were “no surprises”, especially with the two leaders avoiding more sensitive topics.Trump said Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory, was not discussed.”By the time the two sides meet again, US-China negotiations will likely enter truly deep waters,” the EIU’s Su said.”Issues such as Taiwan, market access, and national security will test how much genuine willingness both sides have to pressure the other into making concessions on their own priorities.” Either country could also decide, at some point, to walk back on the specific decisions announced on Thursday.”There is the issue of one or both sides changing their minds or accusing the other side of not acting in good faith,” said Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore.”We’ve seen this before… in recent years,” Chong told AFP. “Trump also appears to prefer negotiating and renegotiating to keep interlocutors on the back foot,” he said.

Asian stock markets fluctuated on Thursday after a high-stakes meeting between US and Chinese leaders that resulted in an agreement to alleviate frictions between the world’s two largest economies.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.Xi said they had reached “consensus” on economic and trade issues, according to state media in Beijing.Stock market reactions were subdued, with Japan’s main benchmark closing flat following a widely expected central bank decision to hold interest rates steady.Shanghai and Sydney closed with moderate drops, while Hong Kong rallied from an afternoon fall to finish just slightly lower on the day.Seoul finished slightly up, helped partly by tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year third quarter profits and strong automotive gains.Taipei finished the day largely flat.The meeting between Trump and Xi came after days of a tech-fuelled bull run in global markets, boosted further by an interest rate cut in the United States, confirmed on Wednesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.However, Powell’s announcement also cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar.The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.Attention had been laser-focused on the Xi-Trump meeting in the South Korean city of Busan.Trump said the talks yielded an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of crucial rare earths, materials that are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.He said tariffs imposed over China’s export of chemicals used to make the deadly drug fentanyl would be reduced to 10 percent — bringing overall US tariffs on Chinese goods to 47 percent.Trump also said China had agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans, as well as other farm products.Xi urged teams from the two countries to “finalise follow-up work as soon as possible”, calling for “tangible results to set minds at ease about the economies of China, the United States and the world”, state news agency Xinhua said.Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said: “The reversal of some US tariffs on China won’t have a big impact given that Chinese exporters had largely shrugged them off.””But the de-escalation takes the immediate threat of large tariff hikes off the table, removing a key downside risk to the near-term outlook,” he wrote in a note.London and Paris dropped at the start of trading in Europe, while Frankfurt’s main benchmark was up slightly.- Key figures at around 0830 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,718.65West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $60.07 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.48 per barrelEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1613 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3193 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 153.82 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.02 from 87.94 penceNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed on Thursday to calm the trade war between China and the United States that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.Trump called his first meeting with Xi in six years a “great success”, while the Chinese leader said the two reached an “important consensus” towards solving the fight between the world’s two top economies.”I thought it was an amazing meeting,” Trump said after the talks in Busan, South Korea, praising Xi as a “tremendous leader of a very powerful country” and saying he would visit China in April.Trump added that the deal included China immediately buying “tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products”, a key issue for Trump’s support in farm country and a point of leverage for Beijing.The US leader said the talks yielded an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of crucial rare earths, materials that are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.Beijing’s commerce ministry also confirmed it would suspend for one year certain export restrictions, including on rare earth materials, a sector where China is hugely dominant.”All the rare earths has been settled, and that’s for the world,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.Xi said a “consensus” had been reached and urged “follow-up work as soon as possible”.Trump added that the Chinese leader had also agreed to “work very hard to stop the flow” of deadly opioid fentanyl, a trade in which Washington has accused Beijing of being complicit.”I put a 20-percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl coming in… and based on his statements today I am going to reduce that by 10 percent,” Trump said.And in social media post after leaving South Korea, Trump declared “Our Farmers will be very happy!” with the outcomes of the talks.The former reality TV star went on to say in the post that Beijing would “begin the process of purchasing American Energy”, potentially involving oil and gas from Alaska.Officials from the United States and China would meet to hash out that “energy deal”, he added.- ‘Partners and friends’ -Neither leader made any public comments immediately after the talks, which lasted around an hour and 40 minutes.Trump headed straight to Air Force One, waving and pumping his fist as he boarded the plane. The jet took off minutes later.Xi was seen getting into his limousine outside the closed-door meeting.Xi acknowledged before the meeting began in earnest that both sides did not always see eye to eye, but should strive to be “partners and friends”.”China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world,” said Xi.Sitting opposite each other, each leader was flanked by senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury chief Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Xi’s team, which arrived from Beijing shortly before — the US side was already in South Korea — included Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Premier He Lifeng.- Crowning achievement -The meeting took place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of 21 countries in Gyeongju including the leaders of Japan, Australia and Canada.It was the final stop on an Asia tour that saw Trump, 79, showered with praise and gifts, including a replica of an ancient Korean golden crown.In Japan, new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter and a gold-plated golf ball.However, Trump’s hopes of a re-run of his 2019 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone frontier were dashed.Trump said though that they would meet in the “not too distant future” and that he would like to “straighten out” tensions between North and South Korea.One surprise in the talks could have been if Xi had brought up Taiwan, with speculation that Beijing might press Trump to water down US backing for the self-ruled island.But Trump said that Taiwan “never came up. That was not discussed actually.”burs-stu-oho/jm