Trump and Xi ease off the trade war, but new nuclear threat brings a chill

Before the high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China on Thursday, world leaders were hoping for news of an economic truce that could help stabilise the global economy. They got it.

They got something extra, as well: intensified concerns about whether the world is entering a new era of nuclear weapons proliferation among global powers.

After a 90-minute meeting in South Korea, Mr Trump announced that the two leaders had de-escalated their trade standoff, agreeing on a yearlong ceasefire that would roll back tit-for-tat measures including steep tariffs and shutting off access to rare earth metals.

The meeting was the most anticipated and consequential event of Mr Trump’s nearly week long tour through Asia, where he engaged in a series of trade and security agreements with other countries in the region, many of them geared toward containing Beijing.

Just minutes before he landed in Busan, South Korea, to meet with Mr Xi, Mr Trump announced on social media that the United States would immediately restart nuclear weapons testing after a lull of more than 30 years.

The announcement came after Russia announced that it had also conducted tests of a nuclear-capable missile and sea drone this week.

“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he wrote, saying the process would begin immediately.

Mr Trump did not provide any further details.

A readout issued by the Chinese official news agency Xinhua after the meeting did not address what agreements were made but did allude to China’s recent move to cut off supplies of critical minerals.

Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One that China had agreed to suspend for a year its limits on exports of rare earth metals, which are crucial for a wide range of advanced manufacturing industries.

He also said Mr Xi had agreed to take stronger action to stop the flow of precursor chemicals for making fentanyl and that the United States in response would reduce to 10 per cent, from 20 per cent the fentanyl-linked tariffs it had imposed on China early this year.

In a social media post, Mr Trump said Mr Xi had also committed to purchasing “massive amounts of Soybeans” and other agricultural products, adding that “Our Farmers will be very happy!”

He wrote that China would also “begin the process” of purchasing American energy.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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