Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was a rare face-to-face meeting in South Korea on Thursday — President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping met for the first time in six years.
Both sides called the meeting constructive.
For months, the global economy has been rattled by tariffs and trade tensions. But after hours of closed-door discussions, Trump said progress was made. The president agreed to lower U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, effective immediately. In exchange, China pledged tougher action on fentanyl.
“I believe he [Xi Jinping] is going to work very hard to stop the death that’s coming in,” Trump said.
Trump said the two leaders also struck deals on rare earth minerals — vital materials for everything from smartphones to electric cars. China also agreed to ramp up its purchasing of U.S. commodities like soybeans.
“Large amounts, tremendous amounts of the soybeans and other farm products are going to be purchased immediately, starting immediately,” Trump said.
But the key takeaways from the president’s trip overseas were not limited to trade or rare earth minerals. On his flight back to Washington, Trump called for the return of regular nuclear weapons testing. Hours earlier, he wrote on Truth Social:
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately,” the post read.
Trump, however, commented on the decision while still calling for de-escalation and denuclearization.
“Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing. And it’s something we are actually talking to Russia about, and China would be added to that if we do something,” the president said while aboard Air Force One.
Despite frequent testing of systems and devices capable of carrying nuclear warheads, neither Russia nor China has detonated a nuclear weapon since the 1990s. The U.S. last detonated one in 1992.
“We need to make sure that we know — we know that we can maintain our strength. And I think that’s an obvious and logical thing to do,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “I think it is an obvious and logical thing to ensure that our weapons systems work as they’re designed.”
Some Democratic lawmakers said they’re reviewing the president’s decision, which they described as “sudden.” Other Democrats expressed concerns.
“It’s concerning that the president thinks that we need to resume the testing of nuclear warheads, something we haven’t done in decades,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. “We don’t have a need to test our nuclear weapons.”
