US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting on Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan, marking their first in-person encounter since Trump’s return to office in January, is expected to cover key strategic, economic and geopolitical issues, setting the stage for possible de-escalation of bilateral tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Before the meeting President Trump posted on Truth Social: “Very much looking forward to my meeting with President Xi of China. It will take place in a few hours! President DJT.”

Trump arrived in South Korea on Wednesday following a stop in Japan, part of an Asia tour focussed on strengthening regional partnerships and addressing trade and defence issues. The meeting with Xi follows renewed tensions over tariffs and technology controls, as well as China’s recent export restrictions on rare earth materials.

Earlier, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump revealed that he may speak to Xi about Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell chips.

"I think we may be talking about that with President Xi," Trump said. The statement caused an alarm in Washington as experts argued that the removal of export controls on advanced semiconductors would allow Beijing to close the technology gap on AI and hurt the American leadership.

Rush Doshi, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former National Security Council official under the previous Biden administration, wrote on X, “…seems we are effectively going to dismantle the export control regime on AI chips just as Beijing builds out its regime on rare earth minerals and magnets.”

China and the United States agreed to a “framework” of a trade deal on October 20 after talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and trade negotiator Li Chenggang in Malaysia.

According to Bessent, the agreement involved a ‘final deal’ on TikTok, China’s purchase of soybeans and the delay of export controls on rare earths for one year.

Li Chenggang termed the talks “candid and in-depth discussions” and said they covered topics such as export controls, tariffs, US probe into Chinese shipbuilders and expansion of bilateral trade while revealing that the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus.”

Days after the framework agreement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with both sides reaffirming the importance of bilateral ties.

Trump, on his first visit to Asia in the second term, also announced trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia and framework deals with Thailand and Vietnam, which included commitments on critical minerals.

On October 27, the US and Japan also signed a critical minerals and rare earths agreement, as the two sides vowed to take bilateral ties into a “new golden age.”