Australian news and politics live: Donald Trump announces major China trade deal after Xi Jinping meet

US President Donald Trump has begun talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping by calling the leader of the People’s Republic a “friend”.

“It’s a great honour to be with a friend of mine,” Mr Trump said.

“We will be having some discussions. I think we’ve already agreed to a lot of things. We’ll agree to some more right now.

“President Xi is a great leader of a great country. I think we’re going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.”

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are currently in a highly anticipated bilateral meeting in Busan, South Korea.

It is the first time the pair have met since Mr Trump returned to office.

Analysts expect the leaders to discuss five key topics. Stability, tariff reductions, tech restrictions, trade with other countries and mutual respect.

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have posed for photographers ahead of their much anticipated meeting, that Mr Trump insists will be “very successful”.

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The leaders’ summit comes after Mr Trump told guests at an intimate dinner with Anthony Albanese and other world leaders that the conversation with Xi could run “between three and four hours.”

Both leaders arrived in Busan on Thursday morning, Mr Trump touching down in Marine One and Xi flying in aboard an Air China jet.

US President Donald Trump has directed the US Department of War to resume nuclear weapons testing, saying it should occur “on an equal basis” with China and Russia.

In a post to Truth Social on Thursday morning AEDT, Mr Trump: “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 declaration came less than an hour before Mr Trump was due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two leaders were expected to discuss easing ongoing trade tensions.

Mr Trump’s comments follow his criticism of Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia had successfully tested a nuclear‑powered Burevestnik cruise missile, describing it as “not appropriate”.

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Barnaby Joyce has denied allegations of parliamentary misconduct.

The New England MP has been accused of raising his voice and standing in a female staff member’s close personal space during a dispute over a leave form on Wednesday.

“I deny the allegations, and respect the PWSS process which is now in train,” Mr Joyce said on Thursday after the accusations were aired on Sky News.

The incident was reported to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is hopeful that US President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping’s long‑anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea will ease global tensions.

They are set to meet shortly, following months of friction over trade and security.

After sitting beside Mr Trump at an APEC dinner the previous night, the Prime Minister told reporters in Seoul the talks were a welcome step.

“We welcome the meeting of the world’s two largest most powerful countries and economies. We are optimistic about a positive outcome,” Mr Albanese said.

“We want to see less tension in trade, and we want to see a positive outcome going forward. We want countries to work together. That is something we have worked very strongly on.”

“We obviously also want to see a reduction in tension around the world, and the United States and China have an important role as the two major economies and the two major powers that exist in our region and right around the globe.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declined to back US President Donald Trump‘s declaration that tariffs are good for US alliances, saying Australia believes free and fair trade is good for the world.

The US President has promoted his America First trade agenda – which has caused disruptions in the global economy and hurt some economic partners – during visits to Asian nations this week.

Attending the APEC summit in South Korea, the Prime Minister would not be drawn on the US President’s comments.

“I am not going to give a running commentary on the comments that President Trump or anyone else, for that matter. What I do is state Australia’s position and Australia’s position is that we support free and fair trade,” Mr Albanese said.

“We believe that the more open trade occurs the better it is for the global economy, the better it is for Australia, and we consistently put that position.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed back against claims that missing next week’s climate summit in Brazil would suggest waning commitment.

He says domestic priorities, including a sitting week of Parliament, factored into the scheduling decision, yet to confirm if he will or won’t be attending.

“I am sometimes amused about the contradictory messages from Australian media saying I should do more international travel but when I do say I should do less.”

“Australia will be represented there. We take COP very seriously.”

When asked whether he won’ be attending he replied, “No, I clearly did not say that. We will work through those issues.”

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“Last night, we had a terrific informal dinner, hosted by the President of Korea with the President of the United States, President Trump, as the special guest.”

“It was an opportunity for a round about two hours to have a discussion with four of the Five Eyes countries… in addition to our neighbours here in Asia.”

“It was a real opportunity to develop relationships further with leaders from those seven other countries.”

“A really positive initiative from the President of Korea, who I will have a bilateral meeting with later today.”