‘Fantastic Friendship For A Long Time’: Trump Praises China’s Xi, Calls Him Respected, Distinguished

Last Updated:October 30, 2025, 08:23 IST

Speaking at the meeting, Trump said, "It's a great honour to be with a friend of mine, really for a long time now — the very, very distinguished and respected President of China."

US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, located next to the Gimhae Airport in Busan. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, calling him “a great leader of a great country" and describing their ties as a “fantastic friendship."

Speaking during their meeting, Trump said, “It’s a great honour to be with a friend of mine, really for a long time now — the very, very distinguished and respected President of China. We’ve already agreed to a lot of things, and we’ll agree to some more right now, but President Xi is a great leader of a great country, and I think we’re going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time."

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Thursday in Busan, South Korea, for their first in-person talks in several years. The two leaders held discussions at a South Korean air base, focusing on efforts to ease trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, drew global attention as both nations indicated a potential thaw in strained US-China relations.

The meeting is seen as a key step toward easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies after months of trade friction. The meeting, held in Busan, South Korea, came as both Washington and Beijing sought to stabilise relations strained by Trump’s renewed tariff measures and China’s retaliatory restrictions on rare earth exports. With both nations facing the economic fallout of their prolonged standoff, the talks carried heightened significance for global markets.

Ahead of the meeting, US officials mentioned that Trump was unlikely to proceed with his threat to impose an additional 100 per cent import tax on Chinese goods. Beijing, in turn, appeared open to concessions, indicating it might relax controls on rare earth exports and resume large-scale purchases of American soybeans.

News world ‘Fantastic Friendship For A Long Time’: Trump Praises China’s Xi, Calls Him Respected, Distinguished

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