At a historic meeting in South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping continued important dialogue. Their negotiations will do much to shape the future of international security and trade relations. Top-level delegations from each country participated in the gathering. They covered a lot, including some of the most pressing issues like China’s nuclear build up, the future of Taiwan, and the U.S.-China trade war.
The meeting ended with a significant move by Trump. He ordered the Department of War to start testing U.S. nuclear weapons, so we could catch up to China and Russia. This directive represents an unusual break from U.S. military policy and further heightens growing tensions over nuclear stockpiles.
“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.” – Donald Trump
Trump came in with a monster caravan. The importance of those appointments cannot be overstated including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Rep Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. ambassador to China David Purdue and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. This clear representation makes the moment even stronger, as it highlights the necessity of the conversation that took place between the two leaders.
The meeting was notable for the presence of Xi Jinping himself, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Senior Advisor Cai Qi at his side. This reflects China’s serious willingness to address multiple problems. Zheng Shanjie, chairperson of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, was one of the other heavy-hitters. Foreign Vice-Minister Ma Zhaoxu participated in the meeting.
In the days leading up to this meeting, Trump notably posted across social media platforms that Russia has the second-largest nuclear stockpile, behind only the U.S. He further characterized China’s nuclear arsenal as “a distant third.” The U.S. has not conducted a full-scale nuclear weapons test since 1992. Since then, however, neither China nor Russia has followed through by conducting such a test, from all reports.
Aside from nuclear matters, Taiwan’s sovereignty was quickly established as a focal point of conversation. In return, Xi promised Trump that he would not invade Taiwan during Trump’s presidency. Trump has not yet approved a single new arms sales to Taipei. This precarious regional balance of power is further threatened as illustrated by this precarious situation.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government continues to reject Beijing’s claims of sovereignty, complicating relations further. Just as importantly, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister said the U.S. and China collude too much on security matters. The mood is tense as both countries continue to seek their respective strategic goals.
Trade relations took center stage as well, especially as they pertained to U.S. agricultural exports. Previous tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration had forced China out of the soybean market, which had U.S. Midwest farmers anxiously awaiting an end to the news. Last year, China purchased over $12 billion worth of American soybeans. Bessent sounded quite optimistic about a Chinese demand comeback to the point that he expects it to be real.
“Soybeans will be a major topic of discussion.” – Donald Trump
In a tweet after the meeting, Bessent suggested that large announcements on U.S. agricultural exports should be expected. On social media platform X, he recently teased that a major new release is just around the corner. That announcement will be called a “resounding victory” for the American farmers.