Jordan Daily U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met behind closed doors Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan, the first one-on-one between the two leaders since Trump’s return to office.
In his opening remarks, Trump described Xi as a “great leader of a great country” and predicted the two would “have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time,” according to a report by the Chinese state media.
Xi acknowledged that “given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye … it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have friction now and then.”
Xi nonetheless emphasized that China and the U.S. “are fully able to help each other succeed and prosper together” and affirmed that “China and the United States should be partners and friends.”
After the meeting ended, both leaders exchanged a brief handshake before departing separately. Trump later boarded Air Force One from Gimhae Air Base to return to Washington.
The outcome of the meeting was not immediately clear.
The meeting took place alongside the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and comes amid rising tensions over tariffs, exports of critical minerals, and technology access between the world’s two largest economies.